


Second Chances

by daisey (svana_vrika)



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Childhood Sweethearts, First Kiss, First Love, First Time, Flashbacks, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Recovered Memories, Repressed Memories
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-27
Updated: 2015-09-27
Packaged: 2018-04-23 17:35:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 29,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4885666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/svana_vrika/pseuds/daisey
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Many aren't even lucky enough to have their heart's mate come into their life  once, let alone be given a second chance at it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Written in 2005 for the defunct Yahoo! group, A Dragons Lair, for the annual spring fling. Betaed by Seshats_Prodigy, but I touched it last. All mistakes are my own.
> 
> Disclaimer: The following is written solely for fun, and no infringement is intended. Yu-gi-Oh! and the scenarios and characters involved are the intellectual property of Kazuki Takahashi.
> 
> Please note that the story is set in an universe similar to, but alternate to, the one in which the series takes place. Any out-of-character behavior was deliberately done for the telling of the tale.

It was a beautiful day. The sun shone warmly in the clear blue sky, its bright rays glinting off of the dew that caressed the grasses as they swayed in the breeze that danced across the park. A pair of blue eyes, a few shades darker than the sky but no less clear, stared wistfully as the scene, a small sigh escaping their owner's lips as they watched a young boy and his father string a kite into the air. Seto loved the outdoors, loved the feel of the sun on his face and the breeze through his hair. At home he was always outside; from the time that he left the breakfast table until the twilight blanketed the sky, he would play and explore, drinking in the fresh air and vibrant colors that surrounded him. But here- The chestnut haired boy's wistful gaze turned forlorn as the car began to move again, taking him away from one of the few spots in this new city that hadn't been choked out by tall, ugly buildings or polluted by the garbage and graffiti of its natives. The woman seated next to him noticed the change in his demeanor, and turned in her seat to look at him, a soft smile on her face.

"Why so somber, Se-chan?" she chided gently. "Today should be a happy day." The woman's smile widened imperceptibly and she bit back a chuckle as her six year old son's lower lip protruded slightly.

"Okaa-san, why did we have to come to New York?" he demanded. "I know that Odou-san had to come to assist with the merger between the Eidan Corporation and the Gijutsu Plant, but it's not like they'd need him forever; why couldn't we have waited for him at home?" The boy's lower lip was now fully out and trembling slightly. "I miss home," he whispered, his long, dark lashes catching his tears before they could escape down his face. Rosu Kimi sighed as she watched the enigmatic combination of child and genius that was her son fight against the moisture that threatened his eyes.

"It's okay to be sad, Seto," she soothed, brushing a hand through the boy's longish bangs. "It's okay to cry. I miss our home too." She dropped her hand to her son's soft cheek and, with a gentle brush of her thumb, wiped away a tear that had finally managed to escape. Leaning down slightly, she peered into her son's eyes and gave him a loving smile. "But, as much as I miss Japan, I think I'd miss your odou-san more. And besides," she continued, her blue-grey eyes sparkling with anticipation, "We all want to be together when the baby comes, ne?" The small boy's face brightened at the mention of the baby, just as she had known it would.

"How much longer `till the baby is born _now_?" he asked excitedly.

"Just over four months," she replied, not quite catching her chuckle this time as her son's lower lip began to protrude once again.

"But Okaa-san, that's still one hundred-twenty two days away," Seto said almost petulantly. "Who am I going to play with `til then?" Kimi paused a moment before answering, slightly overwhelmed by how easily her six year old son had calculated and rattled off the conversion from months into days. Even though things such as that happened almost daily, she never ceased to be amazed by them. The elegant woman looked at her boy, her expression a mixture of pride and wistfulness. Despite her light-hearted demeanor, Rosu Kimi was no fool when it came to the way things were in the world, especially the world of business and technology. She knew that, should her son's prodigal talents be found out, there'd be no stopping the greedy vultures that swooped and preyed through her husband's chosen domain.

 _`Thank Kami his skills remain hidden and he can still be a child.'_ Kimi's eyes narrowed determinedly. _`And, if I have my say, that's things will remain.'_ Realizing that her son was looking at her expectantly, she pushed her melancholy thoughts away and offered him a teasing smile

"I'm afraid that the baby will be too small for you to play with right away," she began, her eyes sparkling with mischief as the car began to slow. "But don't worry Se-chan. Starting today, you'll be having such fun that the months will fly by like seconds." By the time she finished her statement, the car had come to a stop and the chauffeur was patiently waiting for them to exit. Climbing out of the limo, Seto stared up at the tall building in front of him.

"Why are we at Odou-san's office?" the boy asked curiously, frowning when his mother replied with an enigmatic `you'll see'. His inquisitive expression deepened when, instead of taking the executive car up to his father's office, his mother hustled him into a smaller elevator and pushed the down button. Mother and son remained silent until the door slid open, admitting them into a warmly decorated hallway. Seto's inquisitive eyes drank in the bright colors and happy decorations and, when his ears picked up on the cheery sound of children laughing and talking, he couldn't help but quicken his pace.

"Slow down, Se-chan," Kimi laughed, nearly as excited at the prospect of potential playmates for her son as the boy was. "They're not going anywhere, I promise." Heaving a sigh, Seto stopped and turned toward his mother, his face the epitome of impatience. Catching up with her son and crouching down in front of him, the obsidian haired woman schooled her features into a petulant expression that nearly matched the other's. "Oh, _I_ see how it is… one hint of children to play with and your okaa-san is suddenly unimportant, ne?" Kimi abruptly halted her teasing as Seto's features twisted into a fiercely protective expression. Without warning, the boy threw himself at his mother and wrapped his arms around her, nearly knocking her backwards with the force of his embrace.

"Never, Okaa-san!" her son cried vehemently. "I'll never love _anyone_ as much as I love you! No one could _ever_ take your place in my heart!" The boy's reaction to her teasing, whilst totally unexpected, touched her deeply and brought tears to her eyes.

"Hush, Se-chan," she soothed, swallowing around the lump in her throat as she gently removed her son's arms from her neck. "I know." Kimi held out her hand, a loving smile on her face. "I could never forget your love for me; not with your beautiful gift to remind me." Silently, she sighed in relief as the sight of the birthday present that Seto had given her brought a smile to her son's stormy face. The ring was exquisite; the large Baltic amber cabochon glistened even in the fluorescent lighting and the band of eighteen carat rose gold- whilst solid- had been engraved with an intricate filigree design, the sharp, laser cut edges of the pattern catching the light and adding to the gleam of the stone. According to her husband, Seto had been most particular about the stone, choosing the amber over all the other April birthstones because of the legendary properties of the gem. Not only was it the stone of her star sign, it was also said to represent love and joy, strength and protection. Once again Kimi's mind took pause at the fact that a six-year old, _her_ six year old, would even know about gems, let alone the legends behind them. A loud burst of laughter tore both their attentions away from the ring and, his despair at his mother's words forgotten, Seto looked longingly at the door.

"Come, Se-chan." Kimi stood and offered her ringed hand to her son. "Let's go see what all the fun is about." Eagerly the chestnut haired boy complied, practically dragging his mother down the remainder of the hall and around the corner. Seto's blue eyes grew round as finally, he reached the door and peered inside.

The large room was full of children running and playing and working on projects. A group of boys Seto's age were digging in a giant sandbox in one of the corners, diligently working the fine brown particles into random piles with their bulldozers and dump trucks. Another group, this one mostly girls, sat around an oblong table full of beads and yarn and other `crafty' items, chattering excitedly as they created their works of art with all the enthusiasm of miniature Michelangelos. The remainder of the children were using the large, empty space in the middle of the room for an impromptu game of tag, save for a small group of slightly older boys that were huddled together, laughing and whispering amongst themselves in the far corner of the room. A gentle tug on his arm brought Seto's attention back to his mother. Looking up, he was surprised to see another lady standing next to her, smiling down at him patiently.

"Se-chan, this is Miss Mary," Kimi explained, gesturing toward the slightly shorter woman. "She runs the play group here at the Eidan building." The care provider's smile widened as Seto offered her a respectful bow in greeting.

"Welcome, Seto," she replied, noticing the way his eyes kept flitting back to the room full of kids. "Would you like to go in and meet some of the children?" Eyes dancing with excitement, the boy looked up at his mother.

"Oh, Okaa-san, may I?"

"Only on two conditions." Kimi crouched down and looked her son in the eyes. "First and most importantly, Miss Mary is in charge; you are to listen to her at all times while you're here." She waited until Seto nodded his understanding before she continued. "Second," the woman's eyes twinkled mischievously into her son's, "I want you to promise to tell me _everything_ when you get home." Giggling at his mother's silliness, the six-year-old launched himself at her once again.

"I promise," he replied, sealing said promise with a kiss to her cheek before dashing into the room. As her son disappeared, Kimi rose to her feet and smiled her thanks to the sitter, wincing slightly as she felt the taut muscles supporting her precious burden twinge sharply. The ache disappeared as suddenly as it had come and, passing it off as a growing pain, the slender woman exited the room and went home, intent on resting as her physician had suggested until the two men in her life came home.

Seto watched his mother leave and, in a moment of childhood panic, tore across the room toward the exit. He had almost made it when he heard a loud burst of laughter come from the group of older boys. Hesitating momentarily despite himself, the youth looked over to where the boys stood. A stocky red-head pointed down at whatever it was they were gathered around, laughing raucously as he viciously moved his foot toward the center of the huddle. Seto's eyes widened in shock when he heard a pained cry issue forth as a result of the kick. Looking around for Miss Mary and seeing her occupied with the task of removing a glue stick from a young girl's hair, the boy's eyes narrowed determinedly and he made his way toward the corner.

"-dollies, Joey," he heard the red head sneer as he silently stepped up to the group. "Not even _baby_ boys like you!"

"I ain't a baby," the subject of their torment protested, the soft tenor of his young voice softening the odd accent that had grated on Seto's ears since his arrival to New York. Intrigued by the gentle lilt, he edged his way around the group, hoping to spy the owner of the voice. "An' I ain't playin' with th' doll. I already tole ya…" A gangly black boy standing next to the red head cut the other off.

"We don't care what you told us," he interrupted, his sneer just as cruel as the red-head's had been. "You're nothin' but a dumb, little baby. Ain't that right, Charlie?" he asked, turning to the red-head in a fawning manner. The boy named Charlie laughed and nodded in agreement.

"That's right, Tommy." Charlie high-fived his friend and then turned back to the boy in question. "Ain't that right, Joey? Ain't you a dumb, little baby?" The red head's grin turned into a scowl when the unseen boy didn't answer. "Hey," he yelled, pulling his foot back for another kick. "I'm talking to-" Charlie's foot never met its target. The next thing he knew, his bottom had hit the floor hard, apparently knocked there by the petite brunette that was glaring down at him. Noting both the boy's scowl and the fact that his cronies were currently edging away from the scene, Charlie did the only think he could think of. Throwing his head back he began to wail, loudly.

Miss Mary turned her attention to the source of the noise and, seeing the crying red head on the floor and the scowling brunette standing over him, she gently pushed the little girl she was trying to help into a chair and made her way to the corner.

"What is going on over here?" she demanded, placing her hands on her hips and looking sternly at her newest charge. Suddenly the room fell silent, save for the noise of Charlie's sobs. Seto, realizing that he was the center of everyone's scrutiny, flushed a brilliant red. However, despite his embarrassment, he met Miss Mary's gaze evenly, determined to accept the consequences for his actions. Taking a deep breath, he opened his mouth to explain himself but was cut off by the soft voice of the unknown boy he had been defending.

“`s not his fault, Miss Mary," the youth said, rising to his feet from the floor. "Charlie was bein' mean an' that new boy stopped him." Seto's eyes widened as the boy named Joey, moving to where he could speak face to face with the sitter, finally came into his line of vision. A gasp of delight escaped the brunette's lips and, despite his embarrassment, he couldn't help but smile. Joey was slightly taller and looked to be a little heavier than Seto was. He wore a pair of faded blue jeans with worn out patches at the knees and an equally faded t-shirt touting the New York Rangers as the 1994 NHL champions. However, it wasn't the boy's size or clothing that had captured Seto's rapt attention, nor was it the animated way he was speaking, wildly gesturing with his hands in an attempt to convey to Miss Mary precisely what had happened. It was the other aspects of Joey's appearance that had the brunette staring unabashedly, namely his hair and his eyes.

The taller boy's eyes were a soft, warm brown, and were currently wide and full of determination to clear his rescuer of guilt. And his hair, Seto had _never_ seen hair the color of Joey's. Blondes were few and far between in Japan, but even the ones the brunette had seen since coming to America couldn't begin to compare with the boy in front of him. Seto frowned in thought, so intent in trying to put a color to the soft, shiny locks that covered the other boy's head that Miss Mary had to say his name twice before he responded.

"Gomen, Mary-san," he finally replied, only to blush once again as he realized that, due to his continued fascination with the other boy, he had replied in his native tongue. Seto's embarrassment deepened when Joey's big, brown eyes gazed at him inquisitively for a moment before turning back to Miss Mary.

"What did he say?" Miss Mary chuckled at both Joey's curiosity and Seto's embarrassment.

"I believe he said he was sorry," she replied, crouching down so that she was at eye level with the boys. "Seto is from Japan, Joey," she explained. "His father works for Eidan just like yours does, only in another country. But, just like _you_ ," Miss Mary paused to gently poke the blonde in the belly, eliciting a giggle from the boy. "Eidan is growing. Seto's father came to America to help the company adjust to its new size." The woman's gentle eyes turned toward the blushing brunette. "And don't be embarrassed, Seto," she reassured. "Though your mother assured me that you speak and understand English quite well, I know it's easy to forget, especially when you're worried or upset." With that, the woman's eyes turned toward Charlie who, once he realized that he was again the center of attention, immediately began to wail once more. "That's enough out of you, young man," Mary berated firmly but kindly. Grasping Charlie's hand, she pulled him to his feet. "I don't know why you think you need to pick on the younger kids; perhaps you can think of a reason while you sit in time out for the rest of the afternoon." With that she drew the red head away, leaving Seto and Joey alone. The two boys studied each other shyly for a moment before Joey decided to break the silence.

"Thanks for stoppin' Charlie from kickin' me again," he said, his expressive eyes filled with admiration for the other boy. "He's always mean ta me, but nobody's stopped him before you." Joey offered Seto a shy smile.

The brunette returned the gesture and, drawing a deep breath, said stoutly, "He won't hurt you again. I won't let him." He watched as Joey's grin widened and a light blush began to color the blonde's cheeks. Seto felt his own face flush with color as he rushed his next words out. "I won't let _anybody_ hurt you. I like you and I think you're nice and that you are beautiful." Joey's eyes widened and his color deepened at the brunette's words.

"Nobody's _ever_ been as nice to me as you," he said, the expression in his eyes briefly changing from one of admiration to one of something akin to adoration. "'specially not since my baby sister came."

"You have a baby at your house?" Seto breathed, barely able to contain his excitement.

"Yep," Joey nodded proudly. "Her name's Serenity, an' she's almos' a year old, an' she's got hazey eyes an' no hair." The six year old blonde shrugged and grimaced lightly. "She ain't th' prettiest thing. She's actually kinda ugly; but she's _tons_ better than when Mama firs' brought her home." The blonde jutted his thumb into his chest. "But ugly or not, I'm her big brother an' I love her, `specially when she smiles at me, or when she's just had a bath. She gets lots of baths `cause she's awful messy, `specially after she eats an' poops." The two boys giggled at Joey's last word. Once their laughter subsided, the blonde continued. "That's what I was doin' when Charlie started kickin' at me." Grabbing Seto's hand, Joey led him back to where he had been playing earlier. The blonde then plopped down cross-legged in front of what appeared to be a bundle of blankets, gesturing for his new friend to join him. Seto gasped in surprise when Joey removed the blankets and, with a sigh, revealed a half-diapered doll. "I was practicin' `cause I wanted to surprise Mama and show her what a good big brother I am." Seto turned toward the blonde, his eyes wide with excitement.

"Do- do you think you could show me?" he asked hesitantly. "Okaa-san is having a baby too and I wanna be able to be a good big brother like you." Once again Joey's eyes took on an inquisitive expression.

"Oak-ah-sahn," he repeated slowly, his own giggle joining Seto's at the odd sound of the New York accented Japanese. "Is that what you call your Mama?" Seto nodded and giggled again. "I like it," Joey said shyly. "An' I like you, lots. If- if I teach you the baby stuff, will you teach me how ta talk more of your words?"

"Yes, oh yes!" Seto agreed excitedly, throwing his arms around the blonde's neck in an impromptu hug. Joey grinned happily and returned the gesture.

"Okay," he said, turning toward the doll once the brief embrace had ended. "This is what ya do…"

*****

The limo slowed as it approached a line of elegant townhouses, coming to a halt at the end of the row. Feeling the vehicle stop, Rosu Takeo closed the file he was reading and placed it into his attaché. Smiling softly, his cobalt eyes settled on the sleeping boy curled up in the seat across from him. His normally quiet son had chattered non-stop for the majority of the trip, falling asleep just miles from their home. Despite the fact that he had gotten little of the quiet time he normally used to peruse the next day's schedule, Takeo couldn't help but be grateful for the change. He knew that the move had been hard on the boy and, with the new baby on the way, he had worried that Seto would become even more introverted. But now-

 _`I don't know who this Joey is,'_ he thought, stepping out of the limo and then reaching back in to gather his son into his arms, _`But if he's half as wonderful as you say he is then he **must** be special.'_ Carefully backing out of the car with his burden, Takeo smiled again as Seto nuzzled into his chest. Silently he carried him into the house, pausing just outside of the family room to beckon to his wife.

Once upstairs, Takeo laid the boy in his bed, kissing him softly on the forehead before leaving the room to shower. Gently, Kimi undressed her son, slipping his pajamas on as stealthily as she could so as not to wake him. She just about had him tucked in when the boy blinked open his eyes and sleepily murmured, "Sunshine." The woman smiled at Seto and lightly ran her fingers through his hair.

"Sleep, Se-chan," she said, leaning down to kiss him good night. Seeing her son close his eyes, Kimi rose to exit the room, only to feel Seto's small hand grasp her arm.

"Sunshine, Okaa-san," he repeated, stubbornly fighting the slumber that was trying to claim him. "I finally figured it out." Knowing that her stubborn boy wouldn't rest until he had made his point, Kimi sat back down on the bed.

"What is it, Seto?" she asked, removing the hand from her arm and laying it back down on the comforter. For a moment the boy was silent, eyelids growing so heavy that only the slightest glimpse of sapphire could be seen. She had just about decided that sleep had won the battle when her son spoke again.

"Joey's hair- is the color- of sunshine." A smile curved the small boy's lips as, having made his statement, he finally permitted himself to fall back to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

"Okaa-san, hurry!" Kimi smiled as she felt her son tug impatiently on her arm. She looked down at the boy and, as was typical of the playful young woman, blinked innocently a couple of times before replying.

"Why the hurry, Se-chan?" she asked, her voice as innocent as her expression. "It's just the play group after all. I saw it the first day you came, remember?" For a moment a scowl threatened the young boy's face but a gleam in his mother's eyes gave her away.

"Okaa-san, stop teasing," he giggled, slightly loosening his grip on the woman's arm and slowing his pace, just a little. "I just can't wait for you to meet Joey," he said excitedly. "You never have, you know."

Kimi sighed as Seto continued to lead her to the play room. It had been over two weeks since she had first brought her son to the Eidan building's play group. The twinge of pain she had felt that day had come back with a vengeance, sending her to the doctor at Takeo's insistence. Her obstetrician had instantly put her on bed rest for the next 10 days, assuring the couple that nothing was seriously wrong and that Kimi just needed some rest after the stress of the move. Reluctantly the young woman had agreed and, once they had gotten back home, Takeo had immediately begun to seek someone to come in and help care for Seto. Unfortunately, the boy had overheard them talking about keeping him at home and, for the first time in his life, the six-year-old had acted his age, wailing inconsolably and throwing a veritable tantrum at the thought of being separated from Joey, even if just for ten days. Finally, they had resolved the problem; Takeo had merely re-worked his schedule, enabling him to use his morning break to come and retrieve his son.

Thankfully, the short-term confinement had ended, much to the relief of the normally active young woman. And just in time too; Takeo had been called back to Japan for the week to take part in a legalities meeting regarding the merger and, once again, Seto wouldn't even hear of not being able to see the young blonde whose name was now as familiar to Kimi's ears as her own was.

Suddenly bereft of the presence of Seto's hand on her arm, Kimi pulled herself out of her thoughts to find herself standing in the doorway of the play room. Her eyes followed her son as he dashed across the room, the young mother's lips quirking into a smile as the boy pouted but slowed to a walk at Miss Mary's stern gaze. The pout instantly melted away into what could only be described as an expression of childhood bliss when, as Joey caught sight of the small brunette, he burst into a run of his own and flung his arms around the shorter boy, greeting him with a joyous hug. The embrace didn't last long but, instead of parting completely, the two six- year-olds joined hands as they began to chatter excitedly.

Kimi waited patiently, her eyes drinking in the sight of her happy little boy until, about five minutes later, Miss Mary walked up to the pair and gently reminded Seto that his mother was still there. The young brunette's face instantly flushed with color and he looked at his mother guiltily, visibly sighing in relief when she reassured him with a gentle smile. Eagerly Seto began to make his way back to her, stopping when he felt Joey hesitate slightly. Kimi's smile softened even further as she took in the blonde's suddenly shy expression. Apparently Seto noticed it as well; grabbing the boy's other hand he leaned up slightly and whispered something to him, causing the apprehensive look on Joey's face to vanish instantly into a brilliant grin and, in Kimi's opinion, a very kawaii blush. Within a matter of seconds, the two boys stood in front of the brunette's mother. Joey stared up at the attractive woman for a moment, his brown eyes suddenly shy again.

"Go ahead, Joey," Seto encouraged, squeezing the blonde's hand tightly. "Okaa-san won't laugh, and besides," Just as before, the brunette rose up on his toes and whispered into the blonde's ear, only this time Kimi could hear what her son was saying. "I love you, remember?" The young woman's heart just about melted when she heard the words and saw the look of utter adoration that Joey gave her son in response. She had heard of childhood devotion before, but never such a devout case as the two youngsters in front of her seemed to exhibit. Suddenly a soft, accented voice brought her out of her musings.

"Ohayo gozaimasu, Rosu-san." Kimi's face broke into a delighted smile.

"Why Seto," she exclaimed, eyes dancing with mischief. "You never told me Joey was from Japan!" Instantly the two small boys burst into giggles.

"I'm not from Japan," Joey exclaimed through his laughter. "Seto teached me to say that!"

"He did a fine job, too," Kimi replied, glancing at her son proudly as she laid a hand on the blonde's shoulder. "It was perfect. And good morning to _you_ , Joey," she added, smiling at him as she responded to his greeting in flawless English. "I am so pleased to meet you; Seto talks about you all the time." Joey began to blush again, so she removed her hand from his shoulder and turned to her son. "I need to go now, Se-chan," she said softly, stooping down to hug him good bye. Standing back up, the woman pulled a wry face. "You know how cranky William gets when he has to wait too long." Kimi's brow furrowed slightly when, instead of his usual giggle, Seto gave her a small smile and nodded his acquiescence. The next thing she knew, a warm, chubby hand had clasped one of her own slender ones. Her puzzled expression turned to one of surprise when, upon looking down, she found herself gazing into a pair of stubbornly set big, brown eyes.

"But Mrs. Rosu," Joey began earnestly, "I teached Seto somethin' too, an'-" Suddenly Kimi understood her son's unusual reaction.

"Seto, did you have something that you wanted to show me?" The small brunette's eyes brightened and he nodded.

"You should have told me, Se-chan," Kimi said gently.

"But William-"

"Can very well wait and get cranky," the woman interrupted firmly. "Now come on," she insisted, extending her free hand to her son. Turning back toward the blonde, she squeezed his hand gently. "Lead the way, Joey."

Smiling happily now that he knew that Seto was going to get a chance to earn some praise as well, Joey proudly led the small procession over to Miss Mary. Letting go of Kimi's hand, he reached up and tugged on the other woman's arm, pulling her down and whispering his request to her when she looked at him inquiringly. Chuckling lightly, the sitter walked over to the infant care area, returning with a small disposable diaper and handing it to Seto. Joey then slipped his hand back into Kimi's and led her to the far corner of the room, where several dolls lay neatly in their wooden toy cribs. The brunette's mother bit back a smile as, with the seriousness of a surgeon choosing his next instrument, Seto went up to the cribs and chose a `baby'. Moving the chosen doll to the top of the toy dresser, he flicked his gaze to his mother, the expression in his eyes slightly apprehensive. Instantly he was reassured, not only by Kimi's encouraging smile, but by hearing Joey tell his mother that "Seto's gonna make the bestest big brother." Turning back to the task at hand, Seto deftly removed the diaper that had been put on the doll yesterday and, unconsciously resting the tip of his tongue on his upper lip as he concentrated, just as skillfully applied the new one. Once he had finished, the small brunette picked up the `baby' and laid it back into the crib. Sighing in relief, he then turned to his mother and awaited her reaction. Smiling widely, Kimi moved to her son and swept him into a hug.

"I am _so_ proud of you, Se-chan," she declared, kissing him soundly on the cheek. "You did that perfectly. And it's such a relief to know that I'll have help! Your odou-san can't change a diaper half as well as you can." Releasing Seto from the embrace, Kimi then turned to Joey. "And thank _you_ Joey, for teaching Seto. I'd have to say that you're a wonderful big brother yourself." By the time she was done, both young boys were blushing rosily at her praise. Catching a glimpse of the clock and sighing lightly, Kimi offered the two a wistful gaze. "But now, as much as I'd rather stay and play today, I really have to go. We can't let William get _too_ cranky; Odou-san would be most upset if he had to come home and hire a new driver, ne?" This time her light-hearted comment had the desired effect and both boys responded with a giggle. Giving Seto another quick hug and then ruffling Joey's hair fondly, Kimi headed toward the exit. Turning around for one last peek she couldn't help but smile as she watched the boys cross the room toward the game table, once again hand in hand.

As they drew near the stack of games, brown and blue eyes lit up upon spying a familiar yellow box.

"Look, Joey," Seto said excitedly, "Yop's still there!" Though the games were there for all of the children to play, Seto and Joey considered Yop to be their own. The tattered, yellow box contained a deck of `Go Fish' cards that had been Miss Mary's when she was young only, instead of the traditional numbers, the cards depicted different characters from Dr. Seuss' book, `One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish'. The group of children had been so taken with the catchy little story that the young woman had dug the cards out and had added them to the game cache the next day.

Seto and Joey, both loving games, had grabbed the box as soon as it had hit the shelf. Once Miss Mary had explained the rules, the two were off. After about an hour's worth of play, the care-giver had glanced over and had noticed Joey hopping up and down excitedly as Seto stared down at the cards, a small pout on his face. She had walked over to investigate further, only to find out that, after several hands of `Go Fish', Joey had finally won. "I was wondering what had Joey hopping like a Yop," she had quipped, winking at Seto and reminding the boy of his favorite character from the Seuss book. Instantly the brunette's pout had vanished with a giggle and the game had been called `Yop' ever since; they had even incorporated it into the game itself by changing `go fish' to `go Yop', just to make it more their own.

Reaching the game table, Seto extended his hand to claim the little box, only to have it snatched out from under his grasp. Gasping in surprise, the small brunette looked up into the malicious gaze of a familiar red head. Sticking his tongue out, Charlie turned away with the game, pausing when he heard Seto exclaim, "But Joey and I were going to-"

"Well, now you ain't," Charlie interrupted, squeezing the box tightly in his hand and causing Seto to gasp when the already ragged sides tore even further. "Me an' Tommy are gonna use `em. Why don't you an' your _boy-friend_ go over there and diaper some more dollies?" he sneered, poking the smaller boy in the chest and causing him to flinch slightly even as Seto's eyes began to heat in anger. "My daddy says there's a word for two boys like you who play with dolls all the time together," the red-head continued, his expression of childish disdain fading momentarily into one of childish disappointment as he pouted, "'course, he won't tell me what it is, but it mus' be funny `cause it sure made him laugh when he thought about it. But that's okay." The brief moment of disappointment gone, Charlie raised his finger to poke into Seto's chest again as he said, "A dumb, little baby like you probably wouldn't underst-" The redhead's words and action were both cut short when Joey's palm connected with Charlie's cheek with a surprisingly loud `crack'.

"Seto ain't dumb an' he ain't a baby, neither," the blonde began heatedly. "An' you better quit hurtin' him or I'll-" Exactly what Joey would do was never found out as Miss Mary's hand clapped down his shoulder, effectively silencing the boy. Suddenly all chaos broke loose as Joey and Seto tried to explain what had happened whilst Charlie once again began to wail. The woman brought an abrupt halt to the outburst, steering both Charlie and Joey into the time out area as Seto trailed behind forlornly.

"But Miss Mary," he began to protest when she turned back toward him after placing the other two into what would be their seats for the rest of the afternoon. Glimpsing her slightly narrowed eyes and tightly drawn lips, Seto sighed, "Never mind," and dropped cross legged to the floor at the edge of the time out zone, staring wistfully at the still-glaring blonde.

When, half an hour later, the brunette was still there, Miss Mary walked over to him and instructed him to get up and find something to do. Sighing heavily, Seto did as he was told and took a seat at the craft table… the only table in the room that offered an unobstructed view of the punishment chairs. Mentally questioning her sanity at accepting a job in a day care and silently averring her decision to never have kids of her own, Miss Mary plopped a coil of craft wire and a small box of beads down in front of the pouting brunette and whispered a suggestion into his ear. Seto's face brightened at her words and, after having the sitter clip off a length of the wire, he diligently began sorting and stringing the beads. He had just finished having the sitter help him twist the ends and secure his carefully patterned creation into a circle when a familiar, masculine voice called his name. At the sound of his father's voice, the brunette stood. Casting one last look at Joey and then dropping his gaze to the bracelet he had made, the brunette then raised his eyes to look imploringly at Miss Mary. Sighing lightly, and with a warning to be quick, she permitted the small boy to dash into the time out zone and press the bracelet into Joey's hand. Before the blonde could respond, Seto leaned in and whispered a hurried "I love you" before dashing back over to the door and leaving with his father.

For the first time since his punishment had been pronounced, the stormy expression left the blonde's face. In awe, he gazed down at his gift, a small finger tracing over the interspersed beads of warm brown and soft yellow. Raising his head and looking at the now-empty door, Joey silently mouthed, "I love you, too."

******

Takeo stared absently at a small photo in front of him, nervously rapping his pen against the wood of his desk and hoping that the sight of the two smiling boys would take his mind off of his heavier thoughts. Every once in a while, his sapphire gaze would flick to the phone, almost as if expecting it to ring. It had been nearly three months since his wife had gone on bed rest for the first time; in the ten weeks that had followed, she had been so confined twice more. Each time, the doctor had run blood tests and ultrasounds, assuring them that there were no visible risks to either Kimi or the baby. Chewing his lip and glancing at the clock, the young man snapped his laptop closed decisively and headed down the stairs. Peeking his head into the daycare room and beckoning to the care giver, his eyes fell upon his son. Seto sat across the table from a stocky red head; both boys were glaring intently at a plastic, vertical checkerboard between them. When Miss Mary approached, Takeo explained that he would be taking his lunch hour at home and that he would be back. The woman nodded her understanding and hurriedly left to break up a game of tug-o'-war that was going on between two screaming girls and a toy stroller. Giving his son and the blonde another quick look, Takeo couldn't help but chuckle as he watched Joey fling his arms around Seto's neck in what, if the red-head's scowl was any indication, was a victory hug. Ever thankful for the presence of Joey in his young son's life, Seto's father left the building, assured that his presence wouldn't be missed.

*****

It was late in the day and most of the children had left, causing a peaceful yet unnatural silence to fall over the normally hectic room. Miss Mary, reading a story to Seto, Joey, and the half dozen other children that remained, felt the man's presence before he spoke. Looking up, her eyes widened as she took in the pale, tear- stained face of Rosu Takeo. Handing the book to one of the older kids and urging her to continue, she began to make her way to the doorway, noticing how, when the man's eyes spotted Seto, the young father's eyes again filled with tears. In a broken voice Takeo filled the woman in on what had happened: how he had gotten home and found Kimi unconscious but breathing on the floor, a pool of blood just starting to form beneath her, how the ambulance had rushed her to the hospital, how the obstetrician on call had told him in a coolly detached voice to remain in the waiting room as they rushed his wife into surgery- unsure as to whether they could save her _or_ the baby. Miss Mary's eyes filled with tears of their own as she learned how, nearly two hours later, the doctor had entered the waiting room and, in that same cool voice, informed Takeo of the diagnosis of placenta abrupto. He had then told the stunned young man that the baby- a son- was critical but stable, but that the mother would probably not regain consciousness and would more than likely be dead within the hour.

"I got here as soon as I could," the man rasped, drawing a hand over his grief ridden face. "I wanted Seto to be able to- I hope I can get him there in time to say-" Takeo gave up, unable to force the word `goodbye' past his lips. Watching the sitter dash across the room to gather his son and knowing that the woman would see him safely to the car, the devastated man blindly made his way up the elevator and into the limo, not wanting his son to see and question his grieved expression until they were alone.

*****

"Seto, your father's here." Miss Mary's voice startled the two boys from where they sat closely together, blonde and chestnut heads bent over the book that the older girl had abandoned in boredom. Sighing lightly, Seto rose to his feet, his eyes becoming confused as they took in the empty doorway. "He's waiting in the car," the woman explained hurriedly. "Come; you need to leave now." Not waiting for a response, she began to move toward the exit, stopping once she realized that the boy, not knowing the gravity of the situation, had paused to tell Joey goodbye. Knowing the grief that awaited the young brunette, she couldn't bring herself to cut short what might well be the last bit of happiness the boy would have for a while. The woman watched as Joey rose to his feet and removed a small, beaded bracelet from his pocket, the pattern identical to the one that Seto had made for him, only done in deep browns and sapphire blues. She smiled despite herself, recalling the careful concentration the usually impatient blonde had exhibited that morning as he strung the beads whilst waiting for Seto to arrive. Knowing she could wait no longer, Miss Mary took a step toward the two, her smile widening slightly as she watched a grateful Seto brush a blushing Joey's cheek in a shy kiss of thanks, stunning the gregarious blonde into silence. The last words Seto heard as he left the Eidan building for what would be the last time were full of joy and sincerity as the now familiar accented alto reached his ears, "I love you, Seto Rosu!"

*****

Three days later and alone once again, Joey Wheeler sat in the far corner of the playroom, an expertly diapered doll on his lap and a tattered box of cards clasped in his chubby little hands. The blonde was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't hear Miss Mary approach until she crouched down in front of him and offered him a small envelope. Listlessly he took it from her, only opening it at her encouragement. The next thing the woman knew, Joey had collapsed into her lap, sobbing inconsolably as he cried for the first time since he had learned that Seto would not be returning. Tears came unbidden to her eyes as well when, as the envelope's contents slid from Joey's lap to the floor, Mary saw both a note and a snapshot of the boys that had been taken in that very room. Hands clasped together, the brunette and blonde smiled up at her from the photo. Blinking back her tears, the woman's gaze moved to the note, barely noticing Takeo's writing that explained how he wanted Joey to have the picture from his desk as her eyes landed on the childishly scrawled words: "I love you too."


	3. Intermezzo Cavatina

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Title Note: Intermezzo Cavatina: a combination of two musical terms, intermezzo being a brief interlude connecting the main parts of a composition, and cavatina being a brief solo melody that is part of a larger piece

Verse 1

A silent ride,  
A sad goodbye,  
A whispered "It's okay to cry."

A gasping breath,  
A final kiss,  
A dying mother's parting wish.

An amber ring,  
A cooling hand,  
An anguished cry from boy and man.

A return home,  
A tolling sound,  
A casket lowered in the ground.

A nanny comes,  
A father hides,  
A brother answers baby's cries.

A somber youth,  
A happy tot,  
A mother's last wish not forgot.

A rainy day,  
A car too fast,  
A husband who's found peace at last.

An orphanage,  
A young boy's fears,  
A brother who has no more tears.

A game of chess,  
A change of name,  
A boy who'll never be the same.

A punishment,  
A blow too high,  
A little brother's anguished cry.

A small boy prays,  
A week goes past,  
A brother comes awake at last.

"A lucky fall!"  
"A genius saved!"  
A past completely fades away.

A cruel man,  
A bitter teen,  
An angry shove, a dying scream.

"An ill-placed rug."  
"A rash mistake."  
A will is read to seal a fate.

A hardened teen,  
A saddened boy,  
A pair of lives with little joy.

A lawyer calls,  
An unknown rule,  
A CEO will go to school.

A sullen rage,  
A door slams closed;  
A picture tilts, its safe exposed

A code is cracked,  
A safe unlocked,  
A reaching hand lands on a box.

A puzzled frown,  
A blue gaze stares,  
An open case reveals its wares.

A simple box,  
A hope it brings,  
A bracelet and an amber ring.

*****

Verse 2

A hopeful glance,  
A heavy sigh,  
A stubborn boy who will not cry.

A photograph,  
A first love's face,  
A steadfast heart that finally breaks.

A diapered doll,  
A deck of cards,  
A sobbed out "Japan's way too far!"

A soothing touch,  
A mother's hand,  
A father doesn't understand.

A market slump,  
A downward trend,  
A young man's job comes to an end.

A sister dear,  
A damaged sight,  
A couple who can only fight.

A marriage ends,  
A bitter heart,  
A pair of siblings torn apart.

A sobbing girl,  
A speeding car,  
A second loved one taken far.

A bitter man,  
A lonely boy,  
A life that's now bereft of joy.

An offer comes,  
A brand new start,  
A man and youth with hope filled hearts.

A hurried move,  
A sister's cry,  
A brother vows it's not goodbye.

A foreign land,  
A job denied,  
A cold voice states, "The letter lied."

A drunken rage,  
A cruel assault,  
A screamed out, "This is all your fault!"

A violent man,  
A battered teen,  
A memory fades into dream.

A brand new school,  
A gang that's strong,  
A lost teen aching to belong.

A bloody fight,  
A teen is jailed,  
A new friend comes up with the bail.

A bond is formed,  
A life is changed,  
A new high-school to be arranged.

A boy is teased,  
A puzzle solved,  
A brand new friendship will evolve.

A messy room,  
A playful fight,  
A box is opened to the light.

An amber gaze,  
A tearful gasp,  
A bracelet and a photograph.

*****

Verse 3

Two little boys,  
From worlds apart,  
Meet and become bound at heart.

Through chance or fate,  
They'll never know,  
But their young love soon blooms and grows.

 

Yet as is wont,  
Life deals its cards,  
And cruelly tears the boys apart.

More tragedy,  
Than childhood joy,  
Was the hand dealt to these two boys.

The years go by,  
The two lives change,  
`til little of their youth remains.

Their injuries,  
And sorrowed days,  
Cause memories of love to fade.

But are they lost,  
Or just repressed?  
Did their heart's bond withstand the test?

For once again,  
Life intervenes,  
And brings together boys turned teens.

Did love survive,  
In injured souls?  
That answer, only time will show.


	4. Chapter 4

"Se-chan? Come, son of mine, it's time to wake up." A tousled head snuggled deeper into its pillow in a childish attempt to ignore the voice. A lilting laugh reached the youth's ears upon seeing his response, and the occupant of the bed smiled in spite of himself.

 _`If I lay here and pretend to sleep a bit longer, she'll come over and tickle me next,'_ he thought almost gleefully, wiggling slightly in anticipation. The pleasing laugh sounded again as the young woman willingly became part of their morning game. Seto's hidden smile widened as he heard the sound of light footsteps cross his bedroom floor. _`Just a bit closer.'_ the brunette heard the footsteps cease; his body tensed lightly as he eagerly waited for the tender touch of his mother's fingers to slip beneath his pajama shirt and dance across his ribs, starting his day off with laughter and love, just as she always did. Within seconds the contact was there, as was the laughter and love, but _not_ in the form of a gentle caress.

Blue eyes flew open in shock as Seto was forced awake by a not-so- light weight landing roughly across his abdomen and knocking the air right out of him. Sighing inwardly, as much from the loss of the dream as from the abrupt wake up call, he attempted to focus his eyes on the living, breathing, giggling alarm clock that was now relentlessly poking him in the forehead.

"Urg, Mokie, geroff!" he yawned, raising a hand and gently pushing the younger boy onto the bed beside him. The brunette smiled despite himself as he heard his brother's giggle. "What's got you so wound at-" Seto's eyes widened as they fell upon the alarm clock. "-Five thirty?" Groaning, he flopped back down and attempted to pull the blankets back over his head. The young CEO was _definitely_ not a morning person and, whilst faultlessly conscientious, never hit the KaibaCorp doors before eight am unless there was an emergency- which his employees had quickly learned to not allow happen until at least eight- fifteen.

Another noisy rush of air was forced out of the brunette as his brother once again tackled him, cruelly yanking the covers away as he said in a voice full of exasperation, "Come on, Ni-sama, it's the first day of school today and I don't want to be late!"

Any semblance of playfulness Seto might have been feeling vanished the instant that _that_ word reached his ears. School. Keeping his eyes tightly shut, he scowled up at the ceiling. Being forced to finish his education in a public setting was going to take a massive amount of time away from KaibaCorp and, as a result, he had fired the hack attorneys that had not been able to find a loophole out of the law. As a result, he was left in the midst of a hiring crisis and currently bereft of so- called `legal advice'.

Sighing heavily and rolling his eyes when Mokuba began to poke him again, Seto pushed the boy off of him for a second time and sat up, swinging his long legs over the edge of the bed. "Fine," he grumbled, unable to keep the corners of his mouth from twitching when he heard his brother's cheer. "I'm up. Now go get-" Once again, his eyes widened as he realized for the first time that Mokuba was fully dressed in his wine colored school uniform. Finally, a chuckle broke through Seto's grouchy demeanor and, fondly ruffling the boy's raven locks, he sent his brother down to breakfast. "And none of that sugar cereal, either," he warned as Mokuba took off in a dash. Sighing lightly, the amused grin that had graced the brunette's handsome face faded into a sad little smile.

 _`I guess his appearance isn't the only thing he got from her,'_ Seto thought, closing his eyes and recalling the newest bit of information the dream had revealed about his mother. _`If only Mokuba had waited a few moments, I might have been able to stay asleep long enough to hear her voice for just a little longer.'_ Suddenly, the brunette felt guilty for wanting to hold on to a vague dream about the past instead of his living, breathing brother. Angrily pushing himself away from the bed, he strode to his closet and yanked open the doors, pausing to glare at the perfectly hung Monet that graced the wall to the left of the large walk-in. Usually the beautifully done oil painting of lilies and clouds brought him a sense of peace, but as of late-

 _`Just one **more** thing I have to thank the stupid school system for,'_ he thought sourly, recalling the fit of anger the attorney's announcement had caused and the results of said fit. Ever since finding the safe behind the displaced picture; ever since finding the expensive amber ring and the cheap circle of plastic beads, his dreams had been plagued with flashbacks. The first ones had been terrible, bringing back the acute anguish of the loss of his mother. Mokuba had come flying into his room in the dead of the night for almost a week, brought there by his brother's keening sobs and furious cries of denial. The first night the boy had come, Seto had blindly shoved him away, screaming out that it was all _his_ fault she was gone. Despite his own tears of pain, Mokuba had exhibited a wisdom beyond his years and, realizing that his brother was caught in the dream and not fully aware of what he was saying, had brought him out of the pain-induced stupor with the same gentle caresses and soothing manner that his mother would have used. Slowly, Seto had come around and, seeing the tears on Mokuba's cheeks and recalling what he had said, had begged his brother's forgiveness through a new onslaught of pain.

Much to Seto's relief, the boy had forgiven him instantly and, eventually, the anguished dreams had faded into less painful, if only slightly less sad, ones. Soon, he had a small cache of memories tucked away, including the woman's appearance and the sound of her voice and her laughter, as well as the reason behind the exquisitely fashioned amber ring that he'd found.

As for the other piece of `jewelry' that had been in the box- Seto frowned in thought as he absently grabbed one of the royal blue uniforms out of the closet. Unlike the ring, the slightly irregular circle of cheap beads meant absolutely nothing to him. When the dreams failed to reveal any meaning behind it he had tried to throw it away, only to end up placing it back in the box with the ring. The usually sensible brunette couldn't figure out why he was reluctant to dispose of it, but just the thought of parting with the worthless trinket sent a lance of unexplained pain through his heart. Shaking his head and clearing his mind of the disturbing thought, he climbed into the shower, once again chuckling as Mokuba's impatient shout reached his ears from below.

*****

"Look, Cho, there he is!"

"Mmm, I could just eat him up, American or not."

"Oh my God, Ayame, did you see his ass?"

"Hai, Miya! And the way the jacket clings to Jounouchi- kun's chest and shoulders; I'd let him do me anytime, anywhere!"

"Don't be selfish, Ayame, I mean honestly, check out his package! There's enough man there that he could take both of us!" At that last comment, the blonde, who was the subject of the avid scrutiny of the small group of girls, blushed a fierce red and turned on his heel to head back down the steps and away from the school. However, before he could take so much as a step, a strong arm shot out and halted his progress. Growling lightly, Jou glared at the stocky brunette who had not only put an end to his flight, but who was also shaking with repressed laughter at his friend's predicament.

"I _told_ you when we picked up the uniforms not to buy them so tight," Honda reprimanded his friend teasingly as he glanced at the other teen's lithe yet well-muscled form. "Hell, if I weren't straight, I'd jump you myself!" Noticing the blonde's continued consternation and flicking his glance to the still-gawking girls, the stocky brunette sighed heavily and released his grasp on Jou's shoulder, only to slide his arm around the blonde's waist. "Just shut up and play along," he growled in mock-irritation when the other looked at him in surprise. Putting on his most sultry smile, Honda drew the blonde over to the group of females. "Sorry ladies," he said, tightening his grasp on Jou's waist suggestively. "But you're wasting your time on this one."

Leaving it at that, Honda led Jou back toward the doors, cringing slightly when he heard the disappointed "Why are the hottest ones always gay?" and the speculative "So that's why Jounouchi-kun moved in with Honda-kun over the summer." As soon as they entered the building, the brunette dropped his arm from Jou's waist and quickly took a couple of steps away from him. "I hope you appreciate what I just did," Honda grumbled, shooting an irritated glance at his friend. "Yobun Ayame is one of the biggest gossips at Domino, you know. I just _seriously_ damaged my rep for you, man." Jou, whilst grateful for his friend's `help', wasn't fooled for a moment by his martyr-like attitude.

"Like hell," he snorted, shifting his satchel to the other shoulder as they stood in line for locker assignments. "If anything, I helped your so-called rep; knowing that you and Anzu are together, those girls'll be more interested in having you bone `em now that you gave `em cause to think you're bi than they ever would have knowin' you're straight. And besides," he taunted, wiggling his uniform-clad ass suggestively. "Once word gets `round that you supposedly fucked a gorgeous creature like me, they'll be flocking to you in droves." Flashing the young teacher that handed him his assignment a grin, Jou led the brunette down the familiar halls to their homeroom class. However, as soon as he pushed the door open, the comments on his appearance began all over again.

"Whoo-hoo; over here, you sexy thing!"

"Hot damn, Jou; you look _good_!"

"If I didn't know you were gay, Jou, I'd _so_ make a play for you right now." Jou rolled his eyes at that last comment from Anzu, snickering as Honda mock-pouted until the pretty brunette that was his girlfriend settled on his lap and kissed the pout away. Leaving the two alone, he headed over to the small group of cat-calling males that made up the remainder of his group of friends.

"Alright, alright," he grumbled good-naturedly, blushing again as Bakura voraciously eyed his groin and gave a low whistle of approval when the blonde settled himself against the wall. "I tell ya; a guy buys a couple of new school uniforms and everyone's droolin' over him like he's fresh meat! Seriously though, guys," he continued, sighing contentedly as he ran a hand over the fine, clean material that was such a contrast to the uniforms he'd been forced to live with last year, "Gettin' that bastard hauled off to jail and havin' Honda's mom agree to foster me until I can be on my own are the two best things that have happened to me since I don't know when. And, now that I'm gettin' the support money from my mother, well it's nice to be able to have nice things again, you know?"

"Well, you do look good, Jounouchi-kun," Yugi giggled, playfully shoving at Yami when a mock-jealous growl was heard from his direction. "But didn't they have anything in your size?"

*****

Seto strode down the busy hallway, rolling his eyes and pointedly ignoring the stares and whispers of his now `fellow students' as to whom the `new guy' was. Occasionally flicking his eyes to the numbered doors, he finally came to a halt in front of his homeroom class. Swallowing down the uncharacteristic lump of nerves and steeling himself against the annoying chatter that was already evident through the closed door, he took a deep breath and entered the room.

Much to his surprise and- though he'd never admit it- relief, Seto's entry went unnoticed. Instantly his eyes darted to the back of the room looking for a seat where he could see but not be seen. A scowl formed on his face when he took in the sight of a small group of guys gathered around the perfect desk… one that would have not only met his desired specifications but would have afforded him a perfect view of the door as well. Sighing in resignation, the brunette headed for the last available seat in the back, just two desks away from where the noisy group was assembled.

"Well, you _do_ look good, Jounouchi-kun," the smallest member of the group giggled, causing the brunette to roll his eyes and snort behind the book he'd drawn out of his bag. "But didn't they have anything in your size?" The next voice drew Seto's head away from his book and toward the group with an unexplained, and slightly painful snap.

"I don't know what you mean," a soft, oddly-accented alto protested mildly. "It's not my fault that I can't get used to the whole sizing difference between Japan and the States."

"Oh, yes," a deep, mocking voice came from a teen that eerily resembled the giggler. "It's such a difficult conversion to make, having to go through all of the trouble of adding a whole one size and all." Laughing good-naturedly, the owner of the voice moved from his hiding spot in the corner.

"Honestly, Yami," the boy said as he moved closer to the near-twins, "If I'm gonna spend my money on clothes, even if they are uniforms, then I'm gonna make sure I look good." Seto's breath hitched as the teen finally sauntered into view. The boy was stunning- soft, golden locks the color of sunshine graced his head, and his eyes; the glowing, expressive brown filled Seto with such warmth and reminded him of- something. However, what exactly it was eluded him when, with a sultry smirk gracing his full, luscious lips, the blonde executed a slow turn that showed off all of his assets as he continued his speech with a teasing wink, "And you gotta admit, I look _good_!"

Seto vehemently agreed, especially when that tightly clad ass slowly came into view; suddenly the brunette was very glad that he was already seated with his groin safely hidden by the desk. Abruptly, the blonde's sexy pirouette stopped, causing the chestnut haired teen to pout slightly and turn back to his book. He had only read a couple of lines when he was interrupted by the same voice that had caught his attention in the first place.

"Pardon me," the blonde began, his Japanese flawless despite the slight accent that accompanied it. "But what is your name?" Seto looked up from his book, struggling to keep his bored mask in place once he realized the close proximity of the gorgeous stranger.

"Kaiba Seto," he replied coolly, silently wondering why the boy's beautiful eyes seemed to darken slightly with disappointment. "Though I fail to see what business it is of yours." Seto shifted uncomfortably in his seat as the blonde continued to gaze at him wistfully, his expressive gaze lingering on the other boy's chestnut hair and sapphire eyes. "Well?" he snapped impatiently.

"It's nothing," the blonde sighed, finally dropping his gaze away. "It's just, for a moment, you reminded me of someone I used to know."

The slightly melancholy tone struck a chord with the brunette and, as the other teen moved back toward his desk, Seto couldn't help but call out, "What is _your_ name?" The blonde opened his mouth to reply when simultaneously, the bell rang and the sensei entered the room.

"Jounouchi," the woman snapped, bringing an attractive blush to the boy's face as she unwittingly answered Seto's question. "Please take your seat so that we can get started."

 _`Jounouchi,'_ the brunette thought as he watched the blonde slide behind his desk. Turning his attention to the sensei, Seto couldn't help but feel as if the woman had gotten the other's name completely wrong.

*****

"Come on Jou, we're gonna be late!" Honda called out, passing by the blonde's open door as he headed down the stairs. Realizing about half way down that the other teen wasn't behind him, the stocky brunette grumbled under his breath and made his way back up the steps, peeking around the doorframe. His frustrated expression softened when he saw Jou's golden head bent over a tattered, old shoebox. Ever since homeroom that morning, something had been going on with the other teen and, upon recognizing the box, Honda thought he finally knew what. "Hey, man; you okay?" he asked softly, walking into the room and sitting down on the bed next to his friend.

Jou sighed and nodded, dropping his head onto the brunette's shoulder. Immediately Honda's arm came around him, giving the blonde the comfort that he so silently, and yet so clearly, had asked for. Despite the fact that he was straight, Honda felt no discomfort or embarrassment at the physical contact; not only was Jou a very tactile person, his physically and mentally abusive past had left him practically starving for tender words and touches, something that, despite the huge strides that the blonde had made since Honda had first met him, the brunette doubted his friend would ever get over needing.

Feeling Jou relax against him, Honda reached into the box on the other boy's lap and drew out the photo that the blonde had been staring at, the blue-eyed, chestnut-haired child smiling up at him from the picture confirming the stocky brunette's earlier suspicions. "Oh, Jou," he sighed, placing the picture back into the box as he dropped his head onto the blonde one resting on his shoulder. "I know how bad you want to find this guy, but Kaiba?" Heaving a sigh of his own, Jou picked his head up off of Honda's shoulder and grinned sheepishly.

"It was just a hope," he said softly, looking down at the photograph once again. "When I saw that hair and those eyes, man, I could hardly breathe." Sighing again, he closed the lid on the box and slid it back beneath his bed. "But as soon as he said his last name and copped his attitude, that hope pretty much died."

"Why's that?" Honda asked curiously, turning an inquisitive glance to Jou as the blonde flopped back onto the bed.

"The Seto I'm looking for, his last name wasn't `Kaiba'; it was `Rosu'."

"So?" Honda snorted, reaching over to prod the lounging teen teasingly in the ribs. "You of all people should know not to judge a person by his name. I mean honestly, who else besides you and I remember that _your_ real name is `Joseph' and not `Jounouchi', ne?" Jou scowled at the brunette and swatted away the annoying hand.

"Yeah, well, `Joseph' died and became `Jounouchi' permanently when the fucker that gave me that name refused to come bail me out that night; even after I tried to explain to him that I wasn't fighting but being fought over," he said, his contemptuous attitude toward his father masking the terror he still felt whenever he recalled nearly being gang-raped by his own gang for `being a girl' and refusing to carry the gun that Hirutani had tried to force upon him. Honda, not fooled for a second, flopped back onto the bed next to the blonde, bringing himself into a comforting proximity with Jou once again. Rolling his head to the side, Jou gave him a grateful glance. "If it weren't for you-"

"Don't be getting all mushy on me now," Honda grumbled, playfully nudging Jou's dangling calf with his foot to let him know he was teasing. "Or I'm gonna have to get all macho on your ass. And don't even say it," he cut in with a playful glare once he saw the sly look on Jou's face. "I'm getting all I can handle with Anzu right now. Anyhow," he continued, pointedly ignoring the blonde's snort of amusement at his statement. "Did you ever think that maybe Kaiba- if it is Kaiba- feels the same way about the name `Rosu' as you do about `Joseph'; that the name is dead to him?" Honda felt Jou tense beside him and he knew that his point had struck a nerve.

"Maybe," Jou finally said. Sitting up, he looked down at Honda, hope and doubt warring in his expressive eyes. "But even though I don't use the name `Joseph' any more, I still remember that that is who I am, if you catch my drift. And besides," he added sadly, dropping his gaze to where his hand was absently picking at the comforter on his bed, "There was _nothing_ there when he looked at me; no spark of interest, no flicker of recognition, nothing. If just seeing him, if just the mere hope that he might be my Seto was enough to make me catch my breath," Jou sighed. "Nobody's that good at hiding their feelings, Hon’," he concluded softly. "It just wasn't him."   
Sighing lightly as he watched the blonde draw his hand across his eyes in an effort to hide his tears, Honda sat back up and once again placed his arm around his friend. "Listen, Jou," he began hesitantly, choosing his words carefully. "I don't think you're giving the `Kaiba angle' the consideration it deserves." Honda held up his free hand to stave off the blonde's protest. "Everything you just said makes sense to a point," he explained, dropping his hand back to the mattress. "But you have to remember, up until you kicked that box open when we moved you out of your dad's place that day, you didn't remember that `your Seto' even existed."

"I didn't kick the box open," Jou retorted, temporarily losing sight of the topic at hand. "You fucking shoved me and made me knock it open in your hurry to get to Anzu when she showed up."

"That's not the point," Honda sighed in exasperation, pinning the blonde with an atypically serious stare. "The point that I'm trying to make is this: if what you've endured in your past was enough to repress _his_ memory, how do you know he's not experiencing the same sort of thing? And just because you stumbled upon the mementos needed to cause that memory to resurface doesn't mean that Kaiba, or whoever it ends up being, will have had that same luxury. I'm not trying to get your hopes up," Honda continued softly, his heart aching for his friend as he watched the unbidden tears roll down Jou's face. "And I'm not saying that Kaiba is `your Seto'. I'm just letting you know that I don't think you should completely rule out the possibility. Eidan Corporation was almost as large in its day as KaibaCorp is now. See what you can find out about what happened to the Rosu family when they returned to Japan. If your heart aches for him that badly, Jou, you can't continue to remain hopefully passive. You need to _do_ something about finding him, or you need to give it up and move on. Now come on," he concluded, rising from the bed and effectively putting an end to the conversation. "We're almost a half-hour late, and Anzu's going to be pissed as it is." Once again the brunette headed for the stairs, and once again Jou failed to follow. "You coming or what?" Honda waited impatiently as the blonde rose from the bed and stretched, quirking an eyebrow when his friend headed toward the computer desk in the far corner of the room. "Jou?"

"You go ahead," Jou replied, giving him a small smile as he brought the computer to life. "I've got some research to do."

*****

When Honda returned home late that night, he quietly made his way to his room so as not to wake the sleeping household. Noticing the glow of the computer monitor as he passed Jou's slightly open door, he quietly slipped into the darkened room to shut off the device. He was certain that the other teen would be fast asleep; however, once the desk came into his line of vision, Honda stopped short. His heart ached for the blonde who was staring blindly at the monitor with tears streaming down his face.

"Oh, Jou," he said softly, immediately assuming the worst. Quickly making his way across the room, he came to a stop behind the seated boy. "I'm so sorry it wasn't him. But don't give up, man," he urged, laying a reassuring hand on Jou's shoulder. "You'll find him."

Sighing tremulously, Jou dropped his head back to rest against Honda's chest, gazing up at the brunette with haunted eyes. "I already have," he whispered, raising a hand from the desk and gesturing toward the screen. Resting his chin on the top of Jou's head, Honda watched as the blonde clicked through several articles that he had found on the Domino Daily News' archival site. It was obvious that Jou had spent the majority of his evening on the project; the bookmarked articles included everything from the small, three line announcement of Rosu Kimi's interment eleven years ago to the most recent headliner announcing that the CEO of KaibaCorp would be finishing his schooling at Domino High. By the time he was done reviewing the information, Honda was just as convinced as the blonde that Kaiba was truly Jou's Seto.

"Wow," the brunette said softly as he finished reading the last article. "If I'd been through all of that, I think that I'd have a hard time remembering anything happy, too. And, if Kaiba Gozaburo was half the bastard at home as it's rumored he was at work-" Honda trailed off and gave Jou's shoulder an encouraging squeeze. "But don't give up hope, Jou," he iterated. "Maybe once he's been around you a while-" The brunette cut himself off when he heard a stifled sob come from the blonde. "Jou, what is it?"

Wordlessly, Jou clicked back to the article that he had been staring at when the other teen had entered the room. Silently, Honda perused the clipping that told about the older Kaiba brother's fall and resulting head injury, his face paling as he read: ~despite the fact that Kaiba Seto's genius capabilities do not seem to be impaired, the question as to whether or not any other brain function was damaged by the accident remains to be answered.~

"What if he _can't_ remember me?" Jou finally choked out. "What if I've found him after all of this time, only to end up alone?"

"You can't give up on this, Jou," Honda said, his own voice husky with the sorrow he felt at the blonde's despairing question. "If you can't make him see you for who you were, make him see you for who you _are_. And besides," Honda added as he draped his arms around the blonde, once again resting his chin on Jou's head. "Even if that doesn't work, Jou, you'll never be alone; I promise, brother to brother. Yeah, brother." He affirmed when Jou wrenched out of his loose embrace to turn and look up at him in surprise. "We may not have been born brothers but the bond that we have is deeper than flesh and blood anyways. You know that." Giving the brunette a tremulous smile, Jou reached up and placed a hand over one of Honda's, squeezing it gently.

"Thank you," he said softly, dropping his hand and finally shutting the computer down for the night. "I mean it, Hon’. For everything." Rising to his feet and stretching the kinks out of his back and neck that the hours spent at the computer had caused, Jou wearily made his way to his bed. Yawning in exhaustion himself, the brunette headed for bed, stopping in Jou's doorway when heard the other teen hesitantly ask him for one more favor.

"Sure, Jou. You name it."

"Would you mind just sitting in here for a while? Just `til I get to sleep?"   
Not even beginning to be able to fathom the emotional turmoil that the blonde had been through that day, and remembering Jou's desperation at the thought of being alone, Honda immediately stepped back into the room. "Sure," he agreed, moving to the edge of the bed. "As a matter of fact, I'll do even better than that." Dropping onto the mattress, the brunette bent down and removed his shoes before stretching out next to Jou. "Well, get over here, Ototou," he said teasingly, stretching his arm out across the pillows in invitation.

"If I weren't so damn tired, I'd so kick your ass for that," Jou grumbled, even as he complied. Honda smiled as he felt the blonde cuddle against him and, within a matter of minutes, Jou was asleep- the physical contact soothing him enough to permit him to do so, just as his `brother' had known it would.

Meanwhile, in another darkened bedroom in a house across town, a different brown-haired teen smiled in his sleep, his situation slightly reversed from that of Honda's. For Seto, it was the blonde that was doing the comforting- in the form of a simple beaded bracelet slipped lovingly into a small brunette's hand- in his dreams.


	5. Chapter 5

Seto sat at the table across from his opponent, frowning impatiently while he waited for the other boy to make his move. His blue eyes widened and he tensed slightly as he watched his competitor's hand hover over the square, plastic form between them, the red-headed boy's game piece aligned with the one spot that would give him his victory. Suddenly, a light weight landed on Seto's shoulder as a familiar, young alto whispered in his ear, "Charlie can't beat you, Seto; nobody's smart enough to beat _you_."

Seto smiled at the lilting voice. His smile widened to a grin as, sure enough, Charlie moved his hand slightly to the left, choosing a different spot to drop his checker into. Eyes flashing triumphantly, Seto promptly lifted his hand and put the winning piece into place, laughing happily when the boy standing behind him threw his arms around the brunette in an excited hug of victory.

Seto's joyous giggle changed to a strangled moan when, suddenly, the arms around his neck were replaced with a pair of lips _on_ his neck. The brunette shuddered in pleasure as a hot mouth teasingly worked its way to his _very_ sensitive pulse point. Stopping only briefly to nip at the erogenous spot, the full lips continued up Seto's neck, finally moving to his ear to whisper seductively, "Now, why don't we head to our corner and I'll give you your victory prize?" The hot breath dancing across his neck and the even hotter suggestion purred into his ear was too much of a temptation to ignore and Seto, eyes glazed and cock pulsing with desire, pushed away from the table to follow the blonde.

Quickly, the two made their way across the room full of children to the corner that they had long ago claimed as theirs. As soon as they were safely secluded behind the doll cribs, Seto found himself back in the other teen's arms, the blonde's mouth immediately finding purchase on his pulse point again. Moaning lightly, the taller boy dropped his head back, willingly surrendering to the other's ministrations. When the blonde pushed up against him and teasingly began to grind his groin against the brunette's, Seto knew he was lost. Growling carnally, he tangled a hand in the other boy's hair, dragging the blonde's mouth away from his neck to claim those teasing lips in a heated and hungry kiss. The combination of the blonde moaning wantonly into his mouth and the sensation of the other boy's cloth-covered erection roughly gliding against his own sent Seto over the edge and, groaning loudly, he came with enough force to bring him right out of his dream.

Sleepy blue eyes flew open in shock and then narrowed in a mixture of anger and disgust as they took in the sight of the soiled sheet draped over his groin and tangled around his legs. Cursing under his breath, Seto began to remove himself from the bedclothes when he heard a knock at his door.

"Seto, are you okay?" The door opened and Mokuba's sleep disheveled head peeked into the room.

"I'm fine, Mokuba," he assured, pulling the comforter back over himself from where he had kicked it off in the night and ensuring that he was properly covered lest his brother decide to come closer. Sure enough, the door opened wider and the raven-haired boy stepped into the room.

"Are you sure?" Mokuba asked sleepily. "I heard moaning."

 _`Fuck,'_ Seto thought in frustration. _`I've **never** had a dream that's affected me like this before! Why the hell now?'_ He bit back a growl as a picture of Jounouchi came unbidden to his mind. Ever since the first day of school, Jou had been trying to draw him into his tight-knit group of friends. Seto had ignored the blonde's efforts for two full days before he had finally whirled on Jou, snapping icily that he had no interest whatsoever in joining his little `friendship society'. Much to his surprise, the blonde hadn't snapped back; Jou had merely given him that same wistful look that he had that first morning before drifting back to his friends. The next day, Seto had entered homeroom, only to find the other teen waiting by his desk once again. Jou had said nothing about joining the others; as a matter of fact, the usually gregarious blonde had remained fairly silent, seemingly content with Seto's terse answer to his soft spoken inquiry as to how the brunette was.

Much to said brunette's discomfort, the trend had continued; for over two weeks now, he had been greeted daily with the sight of the gorgeous blonde leaning against his desk, waiting just for him. Despite the fact that they still didn't speak- save for the cursory greeting- Seto found his thoughts drifting to Jou more and more. And now it seemed that not even his dreams were safe- though for the life of him he couldn't figure out why the unknown boy that had been cropping up more and more frequently in said dreams was turning into Jou in the first place. The brunette was pulled out of his musings when Mokuba called out his name again.

"Honestly, Mokie, I'm fine. Now, go back to-" The brothers groaned simultaneously as Seto's alarm went off. "Scratch that, Imp. Hit the showers instead." Nodding sleepily, Mokuba headed out of the room.

Forty-five minutes later, the brunette was showered and at the breakfast table, still trying to convince himself that the dream hadn't meant anything and that he'd have no problem facing the sexy blonde in just over an hour. He had just about succeeded when he heard Mokuba enter the room. Lowering his paper slightly, he quirked an eyebrow as he took in the boy's appearance. "Mokuba, we have to leave in less than twenty minutes; why aren't you in uniform?" The raven-haired boy rolled his eyes as he grabbed a box of Pretz out of the pantry.

"Honestly Seto, don't you ever pay attention to the school postings?" Mokuba sighed in frustration as he saw the blank look on the other's face. Cramming a couple of the cracker-like sticks into his mouth, he rummaged through his back pack, pulled out a crumpled copy of the Domino Jr. / Sr. High paper and impatiently waved it in front of his brother's face. "We have a dress down day today. There's still time," Mokuba continued, his words barely discernable through his mouthful of Pretz. "Why don't you go change out of that uniform and into some jeans or something; take the chance to strut your stuff?"

With that said, Mokuba headed out of the kitchen to catch the tail end of Naruto, his words echoing in Seto's ears as, yet again, visions of Jou came unbidden to the brunette's mind. Paying no heed to his paper, Seto dropped his head to the table with an audible `thunk' as he felt his body react to the thought of the gorgeous blonde `strutting his stuff'.

_`Fuck.'_

*****

Honda sat with his friends, splitting his concentration between taking part in the conversation and watching the blonde that sat at the edge of their group. The stocky brunette sighed as, at precisely seven forty-eight, Jou slipped away to take his post at Kaiba's desk, just as he had for the past ten school days. Honda's eyes followed him sympathetically; he knew how badly Jou wanted this, how desperate the blonde was for even a sign of recognition or interest on Kaiba's part. But, the longer the icy brunette remained aloof, the more Honda doubted that Jou would ever get through to the other teen. His sympathy deepened as he watched the blonde's face light up when Kaiba entered the room, the expression of joy from just seeing the other causing Jou's normally gorgeous appearance to become breathtaking.

 _`I swear, that baka must be blind,'_ Honda groused mentally. _`He has to be; nobody could see that and not be affected.'_ Growling sub vocally at Kaiba's lack of observation, he waited for the taller brunette to roll his eyes and huff impatiently as he always did when catching sight of the blonde at his desk. Honda had to forcibly prevent himself from gaping when, instead of witnessing the irritated response he was expecting, he saw Kaiba's confident stride falter and icy eyes widen when Jounouchi came into his line of vision.

To be honest, the stocky brunette couldn't blame the taller one; the way Jou looked in the casual clothes he had chosen to wear for the dress down day had even made Honda sit up and take notice. The blonde had exchanged his tight fitting uniform pants for an even tighter pair of strategically faded jeans. The pants rode low and hugged Jou's hips, emphasizing his narrow waist and perfect ass. A white wife beater touting the New York Yankees as the 2003 American League champions clung tightly to his chest and abdomen, the hem of the shirt barely meeting the waistband of his jeans and affording an occasional glimpse of the blonde's taut and tanned stomach. A `sweat shirt grey' fleece hoody completed the look, the unzipped jacket carelessly slipping down Jou's shoulders and showing off the blonde's well-defined biceps that were normally hidden under his uniform jacket.

Almost immediately the icy teen fell back into stride, but Honda observed the way that Kaiba's eyes lingered on Jou as the tall brunette continued toward his seat. Mentally offering an encouraging cheer for his friend, Honda turned back to the conversation at hand, only to have his attention torn away moments later by the harsh, scraping sound of a desk being violently shoved across the linoleum floor.

*****

Jou settled himself against the wall next to Kaiba's desk, a slightly apprehensive look on his face. It wasn't his change in appearance that was worrying him; even without the catcalls and appreciative stares, he knew that he made the casual clothes look every bit as good as he did the nondescript school uniform. It was the fact that that it had been two weeks with no change in Seto's attitude toward him that had him nervously chewing his lip as he flicked his gaze between the door and the clock. However, the feelings of doubt and anxiety were immediately replaced with ones of love and desire the moment that the gorgeous brunette walked into the room. He knew that Kaiba hadn't given him reason for the feelings; hell, the guy barely acknowledged that Jou existed. But the blonde couldn't help the feeling of warmth that flooded his body and settled in his heart and groin every time he saw the brunette. He only hoped that his feelings weren't as obvious to everyone else as they were to him. Closing his eyes and taking a calming breath, Jou completely missed the brunette's faltered step and lingering gaze.

"Ohayo gozaimasu, Kaiba," he said, opening his eyes as the taller teen approached the desk. "How are you this morning?" Jou tried not to be disappointed by the noncommittal grunt he got in response, tried to disregard the desperate, sinking feeling that hit his stomach as yet another attempt to draw the brunette out of himself and into Jou's life was pointedly ignored. However, as he blinked back his tears and tried to maintain his friendly smile, something inside of him snapped. Quietly, so as not to attract attention, Jou stepped in front of the brunette's chair, preventing him from taking refuge behind his desk. "What is your problem, Kaiba?" he asked just as quietly, trying to keep his breathing even despite the way it wanted to hitch at the close proximity of the other. "Would a simple `I'm fine, Jounouchi, and you?' be too much to ask?" Rolling his eyes, Kaiba once again ignored the blonde as he attempted to sidestep around Jounouchi to get to his seat. And once again, Jou checked his move. "Well?" he demanded, planting his hands on his hips, the motion causing the hoody to slip completely off of his shoulders to expose even more of the blonde's sculpted arms. "Would it?"

Jou's eyes widened as Seto, still smarting from the memory of his dream, and still upset with himself for being so affected by the blonde's appearance that he'd practically stopped dead in his tracks, took a step toward him and growled menacingly, "Yes Jounouchi, it would." The brunette took another step closer, forcing Jou to bite back a moan as the scent of Drakar Noir reached his nostrils. "I've told you once before, and I'll tell you again, I'm not interested in your group of friends, and I am most _certainly_ not interested in you." Another step forward had Jou almost pinned to the desk as Seto, intent on proving his point both to the blonde and himself, hissed out heatedly, "So stay away from my desk, and stay out of my dreams!"

The reaction was instantaneous; Seto's face completely drained of color whereas Jou's flushed a brilliant red. Desperately trying to keep the hope that suddenly soared in his heart out of his voice and his eyes, the blonde stammered out, "Wh- what did you say?" Nearly blind with fury at both himself and the blonde, Seto grabbed hold of Jou's shirt, tearing it slightly, sending his desk screeching across the floor as he whirled the shorter teen around and pinned him to the wall.

"It meant nothing, Joey," he spat, his grip on the blonde's shirt tightening as he shook the other boy. "It meant nothing, and neither do you!" Shrugging off an unknown hand that suddenly clamped down on his shoulder, Seto released Jou and, brushing past the shorter, yet equally furious, brunette that had come up behind them, picked up his briefcase from where he had dropped it and swept out of the room.

Honda scowled at the retreating form, but any thoughts he may have been cultivating about giving chase and kicking Kaiba's ass vanished when turned back to Jou and noticed the moisture in the blonde's eyes. "Hey man, you okay?" he asked gently, completely misinterpreting the happy tears for pained ones. "Don't cry, Jou; don't let him get to you. You know," he continued cautiously, "Maybe it's time to call it quits on this; it's been two weeks now and- Jou?" Honda cut himself off as he watched the blonde shake his head, a brilliant grin shining though his tears.

"No way in hell, Hon’," he said almost giddily. "I'll never give up now; not when he's finally given me hope. Joey," the blonde whispered in a blissful reply to Honda's silent question. "He called me `Joey'."

*****

Seto sighed as he stood outside of the closed classroom door. His eyes dropped down to his watch and then back up to scowl at the door again. He had just gotten back to Domino and he was late for a meeting at KaibaCorp. Normally, he would have walked away as soon as his appointment time had passed but, because of his most recent `emergency business trip', he had missed the start of his final lit project, and thus needed to touch base with the sensei. Cursing the woman's less than punctual tendencies, the brunette set his attaché down, leaned against the wall, and stared unseeingly down the hallway.

It had been almost a week since he'd stormed out of homeroom; almost a week since he'd been in the building at all. Immediately upon leaving the room Seto had gone to the principal, informing him that an emergency had cropped up at one of KaibaCorp's branch offices, and that- effective immediately- he would be gone until the problem was solved. Once in the limo, he had called the Hong Kong office, tersely informing the home office liaison that the quality control meeting that had been scheduled in two weeks’ time would be taking place the next morning. Ignoring the sputter of panicked protest on the other end of the line, Seto had disconnected the call as the car had pulled into the drive.

Storming up to his room, he had immediately started to pack, working himself into a frenzy in his desperation to escape Domino and the disturbing thoughts of Jounouchi. Once the brunette had finished, he had stretched out on the couch to wait for Mokuba to get home. Exhausted both mentally and physically, he had immediately fallen asleep and into another dream. Seto shuddered despite himself as he recalled the images that his mind had subjected him to.

*****

The young brunette stood in a jeweler's shop, holding hands with a faceless, yet familiar, man and peering into a display case full of rings. Despite the vast array of beautiful gems and settings, he had been immediately drawn to the warm, glowing browns of the amber stones. As he lifted his head to ask the jeweler to pull out the case, Seto felt the man beside him smile.

"A wonderful choice, Seto," the faceless man praised in a deep, tenor voice that the small brunette found quite soothing. "The stone suits them both perfectly: love and joy from Okaa-san now-"

"-And strength and protection for the other later," Seto finished. He paused a moment, thinking about what he'd just said. "But who _is_ the other?" he queried as he looked up at the shadowed face. "The ring is only for Okaa-san, ne?"

Without waiting for the man to answer, Seto turned back to the case, his sapphire eyes blinking in surprise. There, instead of the cabochons that he had been staring at earlier, was a pair of brown eyes, their hue just as warm and luminous as the amber stones that had been there moments before. "Joey, what are _you_ doing in there?"

"Waiting for you," the soft alto came, barely audible through the glass. "Just like I have been since that day you left me alone."

"Well, I'm here now; why don't you come out?"

"I can't." Seto watched as Joey's eyes filled with tears.

"Why not?"

"'cause you don't really want me to. Not yet." Joey blinked back the moisture in his eyes, the glistening tears catching on his long lashes and shining through the glass. "But you've gotta hurry, Seto. You need to want me soon; I'll die if you keep me locked away from you much longer." Seto paled at the thought, his own eyes filling with tears. Desperate to save the blonde, he tried to wrench his hand out of the man's grasp, only to have the larger hand tighten cruelly around his.

"And where do you think you're going?" the man demanded, the tenor of his voice becoming cruel as he stepped into the light. Seto gasped and began to struggle even harder when he saw the all too familiar face of Kaiba Gozaburo leering down at him maliciously.

"Let me go," he pled, trying futilely to hide the fear that he felt whenever in the presence of his stepfather. "I need to help my friend." Seto's eyes widened as Gozaburo tipped his head back and filled the room with sardonic laughter.

"You have no friends," the older man sneered, grinning evilly as he watched the brunette cower in fright. "No friends, no life, noth-"

"You're wrong!" Seto interrupted heatedly.

"What did you say?" Gozaburo's voice was deadly quiet as he silently dared his stepson to defy him again.

"I said that you're wrong," Seto repeated, swallowing against the lump of terror that had lodged in his throat. "I do so have something. I have this!" Gozaburo watched as he noticed Seto's free hand squeeze tightly into a fist.

 

"Open your hand, boy!" he snarled, "Show me what useless trinket is hidden inside." Seeing the look of stubborn refusal settle on the young brunette's face, he brought his hand up and forcefully struck his stepson on the head, sending him tumbling to the floor. Gozaburo chuckled malevolently as he watched the previously hidden item skitter across the floor, freed when Seto's hand had flung open upon impact with the unforgiving hardwood surface. Striding over, he picked up the object, snorting derisively when he saw the woman's ring. "This? This is the treasure you clung to so tightly? Answer me, boy!" he demanded, using his foot to roughly force the boy onto his back.

"Give it back," the brunette rasped, slowly moving to a seated position. "I need it to save Joey; I need it to save myself!" Once again Gozaburo laughed cruelly; Seto's eyes widened in horror as he watched his stepfather raise his hand and forcefully throw the ring to the hardwood floor, causing the cabochon to shatter into shards, effectively destroying the last bit of love in the young brunette's life.

Helplessly, Seto watched as the room filled with amber debris, the gentle glow of the shards increasing to blinding light. His mother, Joey, every pleasant memory in Seto's life was burnt away by the intensely painful glare, leaving him with nothing but darkness both inside and out when the light finally faded away. Wailing in despair, Seto once again collapsed to the ground, trying to recall… to remember who he was. He had just about given up hope when a weak, flickering light began to penetrate the darkness. Whipping his head around toward the source of the light, Seto noticed a small blonde boy crouched in the shadows.

"Help me," the brunette cried out, desperately hoping that the stranger could tell him who he was.

"I can't," the boy said softly, his gentle alto filled with pain. "Not until you remember yourself. Not until you want me." Seto watched as the blonde turned toward him, gasping when he saw that the other boy held the source of light in his hands. Slowly he moved toward the stranger, staring in fascination at the tiny pieces of brown colored stone. "Find yourself, Seto," the boy pleaded, stepping back into the shadows as the dim light began to wane. "Find yourself and then want me. I've picked up the pieces, but I can't help you put them together until you do." With that the light faded out completely, leaving the brunette completely in the dark and utterly alone.

*****

Seto shuddered again. The sheer desperation of the dream had brought him awake with a sob and, before he had realized what he was doing, he had flown back to his room and removed his mother's ring from the safe just to ensure that it was still in one piece. As soon as he had picked up the beautiful, light-weight piece of jewelry, he felt foolish. The amber looked heavier than it was, and it was a soft gem- not a brittle one; there was no way that it could shatter. As he had looked at the stone, two scenes had flashed through his mind: that of Joey staring at him imploringly through the glass of the jeweler's case, and that of the small blonde holding the pieces of the `shattered' cabochon. Immediately after, a third vision had come unbidden: that of Joey pinned to the wall in homeroom earlier that day. Seto's face had paled as he registered both what he had called the blonde during their scuffle and the connection that his mind was trying to force him to make. He had been suddenly overcome with resentment toward the blonde: not only had Jounouchi infiltrated his dreams and stolen the brunette's one source of `contact' with his mother, he had now taken the one `physical' reminder Seto had of her and infiltrated that as well. What was next? His heart?

"Never, Okaa-san," he had whispered huskily as he put the ring back into the safe. "I'll never love anyone as much as I love you. No one could ever take your place in my heart."

Seto sighed as he once again looked down at his watch. Mokuba had come home, they had made the `emergency' trip to Hong Kong, and Seto was sleeping soundly again; courtesy of the sleep aid that Dr. Shindaisha had provided him with. _`Just one more thing I have to thank that baka for,'_ Seto thought sourly, reaching down to grab his attaché as he finally heard the door open. _`I haven't needed the damn things since Gozaburo died.'_

"Thank you," he heard the sensei call back into the room to an unknown person. "I'll be back later on to help you finish the display; I need to- Ah, Kaiba, you're here!" the woman interrupted herself upon seeing the brunette. "Let's step into my office, shall we?" Without waiting for a reply, the sensei headed across the hall to a closet sized room littered with books and papers. Rolling his eyes at the woman's disorganization, Seto followed and half-heartedly listened to her explanation of the children's lit. assignment. "So you see," she concluded, "That's all there is to it. Should be no problem at all for a smart boy like you; you probably have all sorts of Baum and Milne and Cleary littering your shelves, what with that kid brother of yours, ne?"

Seto had to hold back a snort as he imagined Mokuba- who had not only devoured all five of the Harry Potter books in less than a week, but had also read `The Count of Monte Cristo' and `War and Peace' in their native languages- being lumped with kids who found `Henry Huggins' a difficult read. "Actually, no," he responded coolly. "Mokuba reads well beyond the level of most of the sensei here; such books are a waste of his time."

"Not a problem," the woman said cheerily, completely ignoring the barb. "I have a binder that shows some of the appropriate books in the class room. I have to dash, but go on over and pick one out; you're already two days behind the rest of the class." Seto waited for the woman to scurry out of her office before he crossed the hall and, with a resigned sigh, pushed open the door. Ignoring the rustling sound coming from the supply closet, he headed toward the front of the room where the project display was in the middle of being assembled.

Bypassing the examples of previous students' work, he recklessly flipped open the binder, deciding to just pick whichever book it opened to. His eyes widened slightly when, looking down, he saw the bright yellow cover of Seuss' `One Fish, Two, Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish'. He gazed at the picture, trying to figure out why it seemed so familiar when someone behind him said, "Ah, `One Fish Two Fish'. If I remember right, a Zans beats a Ying, ne?"

"No," Seto said absently, still absorbed in the picture. "I told you before, Silly. The only thing that beats a Ying is a Gox. Go Yop." The brunette stiffened and came out of his trance-like state when he felt a head drop onto his shoulder from behind.

"God, Seto," a familiar alto voice choked out. "You remember. You finally remember."

"I don't know what you are talking about," Seto said stiffly, abruptly moving further down the table and forcing Jou's head to slide off of his shoulder. "I don't know why I said what I did; this book means nothing to me and, like I told you before, neither do you."

"Please, Seto," Jou pleaded, desperately fighting the sob that threatened. "Please, don't do this. I know you remember! You do! You called me Joey the other day. Yop was _our_ game! Please, Seto, please; don't run away again! I think I might die if you did." Seto stared unseeingly at the table, frantically trying to ignore both the blonde and the wave of emotions that was threatening to drown him. "Here," Jou continued, his voice thick with emotion and unshed tears, "Look at these, if you're still unconvinced." When the brunette refused to turn around, Jou laid the items in front of him. "I've carried them with me since that day you called me `Joey', wanting to share them with you. You made me that bracelet in playgroup one day, remember? Please Seto," he whispered desperately. "Please, at least look at it. I know the pieces are there; let me help you." The blonde's final statement caused what tenuous hold Seto had on his emotions to snap.

"Shut up," he all but screamed, grabbing Jou by the shoulders and shaking him harshly, completely indifferent as to where they were. "Just shut up. You don't know my mother, you don't know me; you don't know anything!"

"The envelope," Jou sobbed desperately. "Seto please, just look in the-" Jou's plea was interrupted as his own teeth clamped down on his tongue from the force of the brunette violently pushing him away.

"I don't need to," Seto rasped. He picked up the bracelet from where it rested on top of the envelope and tossed it violently to the ground, ignoring the pained cry from the blonde as the cheap, old wire broke and sent the beads skittering across the floor. "I don't need whatever's inside." Blinded by fury, he picked up the envelope and tore it clean down the middle, eliciting another anguished sob from Jou. "And I don't need _you_!" Ripping the envelope into quarters, he threw the pieces to the floor next to the remnants of the bracelet. "There," he snarled, turning his gaze to the stunned- silent blonde. "That's what I think of your `pieces'. Now, stay the fuck out of my life." Silently, Jou rose to his feet and made his way to the door.

"You know what, Kaiba, you're right," he said, his voice steady despite the huskiness caused from his tears. "I don't know you; I don't want to know you. I'd rather hold on to my memories of Rosu Seto, the Seto I love, then to have them tainted by the asshole that he became." Jou choked back a final sob as he looked at the two most precious items in his life destroyed and scattered on the floor. "You want me out of your life, you got it, but not like last time. Not without saying goodbye."

The next thing Seto knew, Jou's arms were around him, his soft, full lips brushing the brunette's cheek in a kiss. The blonde's sudden proximity broke something inside of him; the softness and scent of Jou's hair and the familiar feeling of being in his arms triggering a flood of memories and emotions. Blinking back tears of his own, Seto raised his arms to return his Joey's embrace, only to find the blonde was no longer there. "Good-bye, Seto Rosu," a voice choked out from the door. Before the brunette could register what was happening, Jou turned from the door and ran, the blonde's broken sobs drowning out the sound of Seto desperately crying his name.

"Joey…"


	6. Chapter 6

It was dusk. Dark clouds, heavy with rain, blanketed the sky, weighing the usually pleasant twilight down with humidity and darkness; not even a whisper of a breeze could be felt to alleviate the sticky heat. The tension in the clouds could be felt on the streets as the people of Domino shortened their greetings and lengthened their strides in an effort to reach their destinations before the storm finally burst. Even those fortunate enough to have vehicles were feeling the heat. The traffic, which was moving at a snail's pace, made running all but the best air conditioners impossible, and lowering the windows provided little, if any, relief. Moving sleekly, despite the traffic conditions, a long, black limo turned off of the busy main street and headed toward the residential section of town. The passenger sighed in relief, more due to the increase in speed than the increase in air flow. The dark-haired boy looked out the window, his brow furrowing as he realized where the driver was taking him.

"What do you think you are doing, Takumi?" the youth demanded through the intercom in clipped, icy tones. "I did not tell you to return home yet."

"But, Kaiba-san, we have been around the city twice now with no success; I simply thought-"

"You are not paid to think, Takumi," the young man snapped. "You are paid to drive me around until I decide it is time to return home. If I choose to have you drive me around this damned city all night, you will do so; is that understood?" The chauffeur's stuttered `hai' brought a smirk to his young employer's face, one that dissipated with a sigh as the youth switched off the intercom and returned to his task of staring intently out the window. The worry in the boy's eyes deepened when, just as the limo turned onto the main street of Domino's historic district, a huge bolt of lightning split the sky and a multitude of fat raindrops peppered his window. A second jagged streak of electricity rapidly followed the first, and the dark-haired boy squinted against the intensity of the light, nearly missing the one thing that he had been looking for. Thankfully, as the limo turned onto one of the side roads that led toward KaibaCorp, the sweeping headlights illuminated a familiar figure, walking slightly hunched down the sidewalk. Apparently the driver had seen the form as well; before his employer could depress the intercom switch, the limo had rolled to a stop.

Instantly, the passenger threw open his door and stepped into the rain, giving the street a cursory traffic check before dashing across the road to the now-stumbling pedestrian. "Seto!" he cried out, his voice a mixture of concern and relief. Paying no heed to the water that was flooding the roadway, Mokuba splashed his way up to the taller teen. "Nii-sama, are you alright?" Without waiting for an answer, the younger boy reached up to grab his brother's hand with the intentions of leading him back to the limo; he stopped in surprise when he felt Seto resist his gentle tug. "Seto?

"They'll get wet." Mokuba, puzzled by the brunette's cryptic statement, looked up to meet a pair of haunted blue eyes, their normal brilliant sapphire color dulled with pain. Once again he tried to take his brother's hand, and once again the teen resisted, repeating his previous statement. Finally, a flash of lightning assisted the dim street lamp, allowing enough illumination for Mokuba to see that his brother was carefully cradling something in his hands, protecting whatever it was by hunching his torso over the items. Unsure as to what was going on, but knowing that he had to get both himself and Seto out of the rain, the raven-haired boy decided to try another tactic.

"Takumi has the car just across the street," Mokuba stated, laying a gentle hand on his brother's arm but taking care not to grip it in any way. "If we get inside the limo, then you'll be able to keep them dry." The younger boy held his breath until he saw the other’s reluctant nod. Heaving a sigh of relief, he slipped his hand over to the small of Seto's back and guided him across the street and into the waiting vehicle.

Once inside, Mokuba fell silent, unsure as to what to say or do. He shivered involuntarily as he recalled the haunted look in Seto's eyes; one that he hadn't seen since just after their stepfather's death. He knew that his brother was hurting but he had no idea as to why. Unable to think of anything soothing to say, Mokuba did the one thing he could think of to help. Unbuckling himself from his seat by the door, the boy slid over to the middle and quickly fastened the lap belt. Closing his eyes, he leaned on his big brother's shoulder and softly whispered, "I love you, Ni-Sama." For a moment, Mokuba wondered if Seto had heard him and then, suddenly, he felt the weight of the brunette's head fall against his own as the body beside him began to tremble with suppressed sobs. "Seto, what is it?" Mokuba demanded, his voice slightly panicked. "What's going on?"

"I've lost him," Seto choked out, pressing the still-hidden items in his hands to his chest. "I've lost him again, only this time _he_ ran away."

"Who, Ni-Sama?" Mokuba asked plaintively, his own eyes welling with tears from the desperation in his brother's voice. "Who ran away?" However, try as he might, he was unable to get any more out of the disconsolate teen. Realizing that his brother was beyond speech, Mokuba silenced his questioning and fell into the litany of gentle caresses and soothing sounds that he'd used when Seto's nightmares had begun all those weeks ago. The raven-haired boy sighed in relief when, finally, he felt his brother relax into an exhausted sleep. As the limo pulled into the circular drive and up to the house, Mokuba noticed something glimmering on the seat by the light of the security lamp. Curious, he picked it up, only to notice another come rolling out of Seto's slightly uncurled hand and down his leg. Not knowing what the beads were from, but realizing that they were important to his brother, Mokuba picked up the rogue pieces of plastic and put them in his pocket. As gently as he could lest he wake the sleeping teen, he removed several more beads and a broken wire from Seto's right hand. Noticing a gleam of white peeking out of his left, Mokuba leaned over and removed those items as well. Glancing down at the objects that were now in ~his~ hands, the smaller teen was somewhat surprised to find that the items his brother had been so adamantly protecting were nothing more than some cheap plastic beads and a torn envelope. After pushing the intercom and instructing Takumi to call for Seto's valet, Mokuba returned his attention to the objects, contemplating why the inexpensive trinkets and torn paper had caused such an effect on his normally cool and collected brother. He was brought out of his musings by a rap on the door and, sighing in resignation, the boy pocketed the items and reluctantly roused the other.

Slowly, Seto blinked open his eyes and, though bleary with sleep, Mokuba was glad to see that they had lost most of the haunted, empty look from before. Bemusedly the older boy took in his surroundings, his puzzled gaze landing on his brother. "Mokuba?"

"It's okay, Ni-sama," the boy said, his relief evident in his tone of voice. "You walked out of school and got caught in the storm, but we found you, and now we're home."

"Walked out of school?" Seto said dazedly when Mokuba paused to breathe. "Why on earth-" Suddenly, his face paled as he recalled what had happened. "Joey," he choked out, looking down at his hands. Realizing for the first time that they were empty, a look of near panic settled on his face. "They're gone!" he cried softly as he frantically searched the seat for the precious items. "Now there's nothing to put back together." Though he was once again puzzled by his brother's words, Mokuba knew what it was he was seeking.

"It's okay, Seto," he soothed, placing a hand on the taller boy's shoulder to get his attention. "I put the beads and stuff in my pocket; they fell out while you were asleep. Now come on," he continued once he saw the relief chase the panic from his brother's face. "Gerou's waiting; let's get you upstairs and out of these wet clothes. You need sleep." Wordlessly Seto agreed and, within the hour, he was showered, changed, and in bed. Gazing wistfully at the priceless items that had been placed on his nightstand, Seto fell into a restless sleep and immediately began to dream.

The small brunette wandered aimlessly through the playroom, searching. For what he didn't know, as he'd already lost so many things: his mother, his father, his youth. And, while he knew that whatever it was he was so desperately searching for wouldn't replace those things, he also knew that every minute that he spent without it caused the pain of the other losses to intensify that much more. He had just about given up hope when a familiar voice reached his ears, causing his heart to lighten and his head to turn with a snap. _`Joey,'_ he thought, his face transforming into a mask of blissful happiness. _` **He's** what I've been looking for. Why didn't I see it sooner?'_ With a smile on his face, Seto headed for the doll cribs, instinctively knowing that Joey would be there. The closer he got to their corner, the faster his heart pounded and, when a heart wrenchingly familiar flash of sunshine colored hair caught his eye, he couldn't help but break into a run. He had just about reached his treasure when, out of nowhere, a larger boy moved in front of Joey, effectively blocking Seto from reaching the blonde.

"-dollies, Joey," he heard the larger boy sneer as he silently stepped up behind him. "Not even baby boys like you!"

"I ain't a baby," the subject of the bully's torment protested, the soft alto of his voice sending a pleasant shiver down Seto's spine. Desperate to get to the one that he needed, he tried to sidestep the taller boy, only to have the stranger check his move. "An' I ain't playin' with a doll. I already tole ya-"

"I don't care what you said," the older boy interrupted. "You're nothin' but a dumb, little baby. And, if you're not over here playing with the dolls, then what _are_ you doing?"

"I'm waitin'." Joey said simply, his voice soft, but strong. "I'm waitin' here `till I'm wanted." The older boy tipped his head back in a derisive laugh. Clenching his fists, Seto tried to get to Joey again, only to find his way blocked once more.

"Wanted?" the stranger sneered. "Who in the hell would want you? You're worthless! What makes you think you're someone that _anyone_ would want?"

"Seto wants me," Joey said huskily, the pain the other boy had caused evident in his voice. "Seto needs me. He just hasn't realized it yet." Again the older boy laughed, the sound cruel and hateful.

"Idiot!" the stranger spat maliciously. "Haven't you realized it yet? Can't you see who I am?" Seto felt a knot of fear tighten in his chest as, suddenly, the boy grew in stature. One last time, he tried to dash around the now almost-full-grown boy. However, this time instead of merely stepping in front of Seto, the stranger whirled on the small brunette and grabbed him at the wrist. "Where do you think you're going?" he demanded malevolently.

"Let me go! I need to get to Joey! You're hurting him!" Seto cried, struggling against the older boy's grasp.

"Oh, no," the stranger almost purred as he dragged Seto to stand in front of him. "I'm not hurting him; _you_ are." Seto's eyes widened and his face paled as, for the first time, he saw the `stranger's' face. Recognizing Joey's tormentor as none other than himself, he began to sob inconsolably, knowing what was to come next. Giving the smaller Seto an evil smirk, he turned back to Joey and said, "I don't want you." Seto's sobs increased as he heard Joey's startled gasp of recognition. "I don't need you. Now, stay the fuck out of my life." With an anguished cry, the blonde launched himself off of the floor and ran out the door. Desperate to console him, to tell him he had been wrong, Seto increased his struggle against the older boy, only to hear another wicked laugh.

"How does it feel, Seto?" the older version of himself hissed, staring down at the younger in contempt. "How does it feel to know that, after promising Joey that you'd never let anyone hurt him, you hurt him worse than anyone else ever has?" Finally letting go of the smaller brunette's arm, the taller one forcefully pushed him away. "You disgust me," the older Seto sneered as the younger one stumbled to the door. "You were lucky enough to have your heart's mate come into your life _twice_ ; many people would _die_ to have the second chance that you just threw away."

The words that followed Seto out the door cut through his heart like a knife, causing him to stumble once again as he entered a darkened hallway where there was no glimpse of gold to be seen. Blinded by blackness and tears, the brunette felt his way down the hall, stopping abruptly when his hand landed on a doorknob. Anxious to be out of the dark, lonely passageway, he turned the knob, almost sobbing with relief when he found himself in a comfortingly familiar room that was bathed in a soft, warm glow. Immediately recognizing where he was, he stepped further into the room, his eyes instinctively seeking out the woman who sat at a small, cherry wood desk in the corner.

"Okaa-san, what are you doing?" he asked, his curiosity momentarily overcoming his grief.

"I'm writing, Se-chan," she replied, the gentle tone of her voice comforting him even further. "I've been keeping a journal for you and the baby, for you to remember me by."

"What do you mean?" Seto demanded, a note of panic creeping into his voice. "You're not going anywhere; you can't!"

"Life is unpredictable, Seto," Kimi chided gently, turning to look at her boy. "Tragedies happen, people grow and change, the past is forgotten, loved ones are pushed away by stubborn hearts and cruel words." Seto, noticing the way that his mother's kind eyes filled with disappointment as she ended her statement, knew immediately of whom she was speaking.

"Like Joey?" he whispered, his own eyes filling with tears once again.

"Like Joey," she confirmed with a somber nod.

"I hurt him, Okaa-san," he whispered brokenly. "And then he ran away. I looked for him, but-" Seto broke off as a sob caught in his throat. "Okaa-san," he finally choked out. "What if I never find him again? What if I've lost him for good?" Smiling gently, Kimi reached out and drew her son into her arms.

"Joey loves you, Seto," she said softly. "He has from the first day you met. But even the strongest of loves can die, if wounded deeply enough. Joey is wounded, Se-chan," she continued, "But his love is not dead. Not yet. You have to pick up the pieces, my son, before it becomes too late."

"But I already have," he said huskily, opening his hands and showing her the pieces of the bracelet and envelope that had appeared as she finished her sentence. "I have, and he still ran away." Kimi sighed and shook her head, offering the brilliant, yet naïve, brunette in her arms a small, sad smile.

"I don't mean those pieces, Seto," she explained, removing them from his hands and setting them on the nightstand next to the bed. "I meant the other pieces that you hold, the ones that you can't see. The bracelet wasn't the only thing that broke when you tossed it to the ground," she continued, gazing steadily into her son's eyes. "When you broke the bracelet, you broke Joey's heart as well. You need to wake up, Son," she concluded, reluctantly but firmly removing the boy from her arms. "It's time to wake up and repair what it is you have broken."

Almost as if on command, Seto's eyes sleepily blinked open, immediately falling on the items next to his bed. With more clarity than he'd felt since running away to Hong Kong, he sat up, dangling his legs over the edge of the mattress. Reaching over to the nightstand, the brunette carefully picked up the damaged items, his brow furrowing in thought as he studied them. Knowing that the bracelet would be the simplest to fix, he slid open the drawer of the little table and deposited the beads inside to be dealt with later.

With that temporarily out of the way, the brunette turned to the infinitely more daunting task: the contents of the torn envelope. Gently, his slender fingers removed a piece of photograph from between each quarter where, in his dazed state, he had carefully placed them upon picking them up after Joey had left. Sighing softly, Seto lay the pieces together as best he could, unable to keep from smiling as he took in the sight of the two young boys embracing each other and grinning up at him from the pieces of the picture.

"Joey," he whispered, gently tracing the young boy's face with his finger. Sighing once again, he picked the pieces back up, laying them back on the nightstand as he rose to get dressed. Though it would take some time, he knew that the picture, like the bracelet, could be fixed. It was the third item that he held the pieces to, Jou's broken heart, that he wondered if he could mend.

Showering and dressing despite the early hour, Seto picked the pieces of the photo back up and headed downstairs to his office. Stopping by the kitchen to grab some fruit, he was startled to find a small, time-worn woman bustling around the room. "Chiyo?" he questioned, smiling apologetically when his voice caused the woman to jump. "I'm sorry; I'd forgotten that you would be here already." Much to his surprise, the old woman laughed.

"And why would you remember, Kaiba-sama?" she retorted, her voice teasing despite the honorific. "It's not like we meet very often, not with you and your lie-a-bed ways. You might be near grown-up," she continued, her eyes crinkling up at him in a smile, "But if there's one thing that hasn't changed since the day Kaiba-san brought you home, it's your reluctance to oust yourself from bed in the morning. That being said," the old woman called over her shoulder as she returned to what she was doing. "What are you doing, skulking around my kitchen at four o'clock in the morning?"

Seto couldn't help but chuckle at the lack of respect the woman afforded him. Had it been anyone but Chiyo, they'd have been out on their ass long ago. But, despite the fact that she was years beyond her prime, he couldn't bear the thought of sending her packing; not when she had been the only one to provide him and Mokuba with nurturing and support during the years they had spent with their stepfather.

"Well?" she demanded, putting a hand on her hip as she busied the other with pouring him a cup of coffee. "Did you have a nightmare, or did you just miss me that much?"

"I wish I could say it was the latter," the brunette replied ruefully, nodding his thanks as Chiyo handed him the mug. "Though I don't know if I'd call it a nightmare. I was dreaming of my mother," he explained softly. "I've been dreaming of her regularly, ever since I found her ring." Noticing the woman's curious glance, he briefly filled her in on the accidental discovery of the ring, purposefully leaving out the part about his tantrum. However, Chiyo wasn't fooled.

"Well, that's what you get for sulking and slamming doors when you don't get your way," she scolded. Her small, bright eyes twinkled mischievously as she noticed her employer's disconcerted expression. "Not much goes on in this house that I don't find out about," she stated, almost proudly. "And before you start demanding to know who said what, you just never mind. And I'll not have you getting all scowly and pouty about it, either." Seto rolled his eyes amusedly at the woman and went to exit the kitchen, stopping when she began to speak again. "Hiding your mother's ring in the very room you slept in, that was just the sort of mind game Kaiba-san delighted in," Chiyo snorted derisively. "Knowing that something that might bring you peace was hidden within the very room where you tossed and turned the night away brought him no small amount of pleasure; of that I have _no_ doubt. I'm actually surprised we haven't found more little stashes of your parents' things hidden about." Again Chiyo snorted. "But then, that would have meant lowering himself to climbing to the attic." The woman's cackle of pleasure at her own word play was cut short when Seto asked her to repeat what she'd said. Before the second syllable of `attic' was out of her mouth, Chiyo was alone in `her' kitchen again, shaking her head bemusedly at the still-swinging kitchen door.

*****

Seto sat on the attic floor, looking dirtier than he had in years due to the dust and tears that had mingled on his face. Using a grimy hand to dash away a rogue drop of moisture that fell from his lashes, the brunette closed another of the small, leather-bound books with a sigh, adding it to the stack that sat next to him. Reaching out to grab the last one, he couldn't help but smile as his eyes fell upon two small, yellow boxes that sat neatly next to the books. He had just started to read when a soft voice from behind startled him.

"Nii-sama, what are you doing?" Seto smiled through his tears as Mokuba's question brought to mind the similar one that he'd asked their mother during his dream.

"I'm reading, Mokie," he replied, the wistful tone of his voice drawing the raven-haired boy further into the dusty room. "I've found some things of our parents; before she died, Okaa-san had been keeping a journal for you and me, for us to remember her by." He nodded toward the small stack of books, encouraging his brother to look. "I've got the last one here," he said softly, smiling as he watched Mokuba reverently take one of the journals. "She started it just before she… just before you were born." Realizing that he'd lost the boy's attention as soon as the younger boy had opened the book, Seto returned his attention to the volume in his own hands. For a while, all that was heard was the occasional turning of pages as the boys continued to read. Mokuba was just about half way through with his book when he heard Seto choke back a sob.

"Nii-sama?" he asked anxiously, his eyes locked on his brother as the taller teen rose to his feet. "Seto, what's wrong?" For a moment the brunette remained silent, his lips working wordlessly as he stared at the journal he'd dropped. 

"I've got to go," he finally rasped out. "Now that I- now that she-" The next thing Mokuba knew, Seto had pulled him into a fierce hug. "I've got to go," he repeated, his tone more apologetic, though no less urgent than before. "I've got to fix this, now." Before Mokuba could respond, Seto had swooped down to pick up the two yellow boxes from the floor and was gone. The younger brother stared after the older for a moment, before reaching over and picking up the book that lay open on the floor. Noticing that the entry that the brunette had been reading was dated the day before Mokuba's birth, the raven-haired boy set his own volume aside and began to read.

_Se-chan, I have just arrived home after dropping you off at the Eidan playgroup. Normally I wait until after my day is complete before I journal, but what I witnessed today brought such a joyous feeling to me that I could not wait to write it down. As is your wont of late, you were a dozen steps ahead of me in your anxiety to get to Joey. I had just opened my mouth to scold you when what happened next stopped my voice as quickly as it filled my heart. Apparently Joey's mother had been late in dropping him off, because he was standing with his back to us, removing his shoes as you neared the door. Instead of rushing to him as you usually do, you slowed your pace and snuck up behind him, startling both Joey and myself by giving his cheek a kiss. Giggling madly, you stepped to the side as he turned, effectively- though momentarily- hiding yourself but also affording me a look at your face. Oh, my son; the look of pure joy that graced your features at that moment filled my heart with such love and pride and relief that I thought I might burst into tears. But the look on your face at that moment was **nothing** compared to the look of love and adoration that replaced it when Joey finally `caught' you and, giggling nearly as hard as you were, threw his arms around you in a hug. I know that life is unpredictable, Se-chan. Tragedies happen, people grow and change, the past is forgotten, loved ones are pushed away by stubborn hearts and cruel words. But I also know that miracles happen; I am reminded daily of that, both by the life that has grown inside of me, and the love that has grown inside of you for Joey. You told me once that you'd never love anyone as much as you love me, and that no one could ever take my place in your heart. And, while I do not doubt the truth of your words, it eases my heart to know that, whether it be Joey or some person that you have yet to meet, you can love someone every bit as strongly, every bit as passionately as you do me._

*****

It was dusk, and once again Seto found himself walking the streets of Domino. However, this evening differed from the last; this time, he was aware of where he was going and even more acutely aware of why. Turning down a side road about a block from where he'd had the limo drop him off, he slowed his pace, finally coming to a stop in front of a well-kept brown and white two story. Checking his pocket to ensure that his gift was still there, the brunette took a deep breath to calm his nerves and slowly walked up the drive, almost turning back at the half-way point. Determined to see his task to the end, Seto steeled himself and continued walking, following the flagstone path to the front door.

After a brief hesitation, he reached out for the knocker and rapped it against the plate before stepping back to allow room for the door to open. He didn't have long to wait; almost immediately the sound of footsteps came thundering down the stairs. As the person inside opened the door, Seto stepped back in front of the entryway, only to be knocked on his ass by an unexpected upper cut to the jaw. The stunned brunette sat for a moment, staring in shock at the _extremely_ pissed off figure of Honda Hiroto that loomed in the doorway. Feeling last night's rain beginning to seep through his trench, Seto warily stood up, slowly raising a hand to his injured jaw. Before he could open his now-aching mouth to inquire indignantly about his greeting, the taller brunette found himself nose to nose with the shorter one as Honda grabbed hold of his collar.

"How dare you?" he hissed, briefly tightening his grip on Seto's collar before roughly pushing him away. "How dare you show up here after what you did to him?"

"Honda, please," Seto began, swallowing his pride and steadying his voice against the waver that threatened. "I know I messed up. I know I hurt Jou, and that I probably shouldn't be here, but-"

"There are no `buts', Kaiba," Honda spat, glaring furiously at the other boy. "Jounouchi's life's been fucked up for _years_ thanks to his piece of shit dad. He finally got out of that situation, finally got his life on a normal track, and then, out of the blue, there _you_ are." The stocky brunette took a step forward, completely lost in his rant. "For the first time since I met him, shit- probably for the first time since coming to Japan, Jou was happy. Even when you snubbed him repeatedly, he couldn't keep from smiling, because he was convinced that you would remember. And then when you did- and don't you dare say you didn't, you arrogant, insensitive prick- you not only pushed him away, you shattered what, to him, was the one hope for love, the one dream of happiness he had left. There are no `buts'," Honda iterated, giving Kaiba one last contemptuous glance before turning his back on him completely. "Now get the fuck off of my lawn, and stay the fuck out of Jou's life."

Seto blanched as the shorter teen echoed what had been his command to Jou. Desperately fighting the tears that were threatening to fall, he began to plead with Honda once more, only to see a flash of golden hair just beyond the doorway. Whatever small hope Seto had cultivated died the moment he realized that Joey had been there the entire time- had heard his pleas and had witnessed Honda's physical and verbal attacks- and had not done a damned thing about it. Dropping his head in defeat, Seto turned to head down the drive, stopping when he felt the laden pocket of his trench strike his thigh. The tears that had threatened finally fell as he reached in and removed his gift. After hesitating a moment, Seto turned back to the house, reaching the door just before it was pulled shut. "Honda, wait," he rasped out, rushing his words as he saw the door continue to close. "I have something of Jou's that I borrowed, and need to return." Much to his surprise, the door opened slightly, allowing just enough room for him to hand the package inside. "I'm sorry," he whispered, tearing up again as the words fell dead against the firmly closed door.

*****

Carelessly tossing the package aside, Honda headed into the kitchen to grab a drink and cool off. Rounding the corner, he was pleasantly surprised to see a tousled blonde head peering intently into the refrigerator. When Honda had come home from soccer practice the day before, he had found a tear-stained Jou curled up fast asleep under the sakura tree that shaded his walk. Unsure as to what had happened, Honda bent down and gently shook the boy awake, only to have Jou fling himself into the brunette's arms as he sobbed out his story. Honda had soothed him as best as he could, eventually carrying the slender blonde up to his room and placing him onto his bed where Jou had immediately fallen asleep again. The shorter teen hadn't been down since; the only proof of his existence being the inconsolable sobs that Honda had heard in the middle of the night as he sat outside of Jou's door, just in case his `brother' were to need him. The longer the day had passed without the blonde's appearance, the more furious Honda had become, until the stocky brunette had finally decided to seek Kaiba out and kick his ass. _`But,'_ the teen thought with no small amount of satisfaction, _`The asshole saved me the trouble.'_

"Hey," he said teasingly, chuckling when Jou jumped and cursed as he knocked his head on the door to the fridge. "If you're done cooling the house down, could you pass me a soda? I'm parched." Muttering under his breath, Jou grabbed a can of pop and an apple and joined his friend at the bar, mock-glaring at him as he did so. "You okay?" Honda inquired gently, taking in the blonde's pale face and reddened eyes.

"Nah," Jou said, offering a sad attempt at a grin despite the waver in his voice. "But I will be. God knows I've been through worse than this, ne? Please, Hon, don't," he pleaded, seeing the brunette open his mouth in protest. "Not right now; I just can't." Honda sighed and downed the rest of his soda, silently giving thanks for the punch he'd been allowed to deliver as he noticed Jou's eyes tear up again.

"Come on," he said gruffly, grabbing the blonde's hand and pulling him to his feet. "Let's crash in the den and see what's on TV." Dropping Jou's hand, Honda led the way, making it almost to the den before he realized that he'd lost the other teen. Honda stopped abruptly, silently cursing himself when, as he passed through the entryway in search of the blonde, he saw Jou staring dumbly at the items on the small table that sat next to the door. "Jou, forget it," he said as he noticed the blonde's mouth move wordlessly in an attempt to speak. "He's not worth your tears, and he's not worth your time."

"When-" Jou paused to clear his throat, fighting a battle between soaring hope and common sense. "When was he here?"

"Not more than fifteen minutes ago. Now come on; let's forget-" Honda was cut off by the sound of an envelope opening, followed by a combination of a laugh and a sob.

"He fixed them," he whispered incredulously, a smile of pure joy landing on his face as hope won the battle hands down. "Honda look; the bracelet and the picture-" Another half laugh, half sob was heard as Jou picked up the bright yellow box. "-And Yop!" For the second time in twenty-four hours, Honda found himself with an armful of crying Jounouchi. After a few moments the blonde drew back and gave his friend a tremulous smile. Before Jou could utter a word Honda sighed in resignation and reached for the key-rack, grabbing the key to his bike. Just outside of the door, he paused and looked at the other.

"Jou, are you sure?" Honda turned to face his friend and, with one look had his answer. Saying no more, he hopped on his bike and, once Jou took his seat, sped off into the night.

*****

Seto lay on his bed, staring listlessly at the line of bright, laminated cards in front of him. Slowly he drew his hand across them, gathering them back into a deck only to sort them out once again. In the twenty-five minutes that he'd been home, he had sorted the cards twice: once by color, and once by number. This time as he separated the cards, the brunette silently chanted the story, ignoring the ache in his heart that the memory caused. As he got further into the tale and into his sorting, he began to speak out loud: "So, if you have a lot of ink, then you should get a Yink, I think." At the word `Yink', Seto started a new pile, placing the card with that character face up on the bed before continuing with: "Hop! Hop! Hop! I am a-" The brunette's throat constricted as he tried to choke out `Yop'. After several tries he gave up, angrily knocking the cards off the bed and dropping his head to the mattress as the tears once again came unbidden.

"The word you're looking for is `Yop'," a soft alto voice called in from the hall. Seto's head snapped back up and his eyes, just as blood shot as those of the boy leaning against his doorframe, stared at the blonde in disbelief. "Jou?" he gasped as he hurriedly sat up, certain that he had fallen into yet another dream, especially when the approaching teen shook his head upon hearing the name.

"Not Jou," the blonde corrected softly, stopping at the edge of the bed. Hesitantly raising a hand to caress Seto's cheek, the shorter teen slowly lowered his face to where their lips were just barely touching. "Joey."


	7. Chapter 7

Jou sat in homeroom staring wistfully at his cell phone, and missing Seto. He knew he was being maudlin, but it couldn’t be helped; at least, that’s what he tried to make clear to his friends whenever they began to tease him about his moping. He’d tried to enlighten them as to how it felt to, after more than ten years, finally be complete again. He’d tried to illuminate them to the fact that, even though they’d only been dating for just under a month, Seto was as vital to keeping his heart alive as the oxygen that fed it. He’d tried to tell them that, whilst he realized his boyfriend was the CEO of one of the largest technological corporations in the world and that, as such, he would be required to travel frequently, it still had felt like someone had torn out a lung and had left him gasping from breath four days ago as he’d watched Seto board that jet. And this morning, he’d tried to explain to them that, while he knew that said CEO’s plane would be landing that afternoon and that they’d be spending the evening together, it still sucked that he’d had to miss his boyfriend’s morning phone call because Honda’d had to be at a before school soccer team meeting.

Despite his melancholy, a small smile played on Jou’s lips as he tuned out the conversation behind him and thought back on the past few weeks. That night that he’d gone to Seto had been a night of rebirth for both of them. Apologies had been made, promises had been renewed, and laughter and tears had flown and mingled freely until, totally exhausted, they had innocently fallen asleep in each other’s arms. Jou snickered to himself as he recalled how, when he and Seto had walked out the next morning for Seto to run him home to get ready for school, they had been met by a glaring and exhausted Honda who, apparently, had spent all night in the drive, propped against his bike, waiting for Jou to come out. Things had been tense for a moment until Seto had braved the waters by cautiously stepping forward and extending his hand in a gesture of peace and apology. After a moment, Honda had reluctantly accepted and, whilst the two weren’t exactly friends, a tenuous tolerance had been established.

After that night, Seto and Jou had once again become inseparable and, whilst Jou hadn’t stayed at the mansion since, the two spent every evening in each other’s company, laughing and crying, learning and healing as the childhood love and devotion grew into the deeper, sweeter love that would carry them through the rest of their lives. Naturally, the physical need that they felt for each other continued to grow, but they had decided to wait, contenting themselves with sweet kisses and tender embraces as they gave themselves time to heal. But tonight- Jou couldn’t help the shudder of anticipation that ran through his body as he thought about what lay in store for him. Tonight was their one month anniversary and Seto, his eyes hungry and his voice husky with promise, had told Jou during their last embrace before he had boarded the jet, to come to school Friday prepared to go home with him. When Jou had inquired as to what clothes to pack, the handsome brunette had given him a sexy smirk before telling him to bring none, that Seto wasn’t planning on Jou needing them. “And you might not want to wear your best uniform either,” he’d whispered hotly before claiming Jou’s lips in a kiss that had been as full of promise as his voice had been, “Because, after a week away, I don’t know as I’d trust myself not to rip it off the minute I got your hot little body alone.”

Jou was so lost in the memory of those words and that kiss that he didn’t realize that Yugi had called his name, twice. The smaller teen finally succeeded in getting his friend’s attention by swiping Jou’s cell phone away. The blonde’s head jerked up with a snap and, when he saw Yugi’s half amused, half frustrated expression, Jou offered him a sheepish grin. “Sorry, Bud. What’s up?”

“Sanji-san’s been trying to get your attention for over a minute now, Jounouchi-kun,” he replied with a giggle, nodding his head toward the door. “You’d better go see what she wants, before she takes flight.”

Blushing lightly, Jou hopped off the desk and headed toward the doorway, where the school secretary stood, gesturing wildly with her arms in an attempt to get Jou’s attention. Biting back a grin at Yugi’s more than accurate analogy, he schooled his features into a contrite expression and said, “Gomen nasai, Sanji-san. I didn’t see you there.”

“That was quite obvious, Joseph,” she said tartly, ignoring the way the boy winced at the use of his legal, American name. “I only hope that Kaiba-san is still on the line by the time you get to the phone.” Jou rolled his eyes, but couldn’t help but chuckle at the way the woman had used the honorific after his boyfriend’s name, but had so pointedly left it off of his. Then what Sanji-san had said struck home.

“Se- Kaiba’s on the phone, for me?” he asked timidly, fighting the blush that threatened to rise in his cheeks.

“Hai,” Sanji said, turning down the administrative hallway. “He said that he had an update on your emancipation process that simply could not wait. Such a thoughtful young man he is,” she gushed, missing the way Jou’s mouth twitched at her explanation. “He said that he hated to take up my valuable time, but that he didn’t want to call you on your cell and risk interrupting the Sensei’s lecture. Joseph, are you alright?” The woman stopped upon hearing Jou’s strangled cough and turned to look at him in concern, nearly catching the blonde as he tried to fight back his amusement. He knew his boyfriend; Kaiba Seto had about as much respect for the senseis at Domino High as he had for the copyboy at KaibaCorp. And as for Sanji herself- Jou ‘coughed’ again as the thought crossed his mind that Yugi wasn’t the only one to have made bird references about the woman. Realizing that the secretary was awaiting his response, the blonde cleared his throat and assured her that he was fine. “Are you sure?” she asked, peering at him suspiciously. “You seem awfully flush to me. Very well then,” she sighed when Jou nodded an affirmative, still not trusting his voice. “Follow me.”

Much to the teen’s surprise, instead of continuing to the office, Sanji opened the door that they had stopped in front of and ushered him inside. “Kaiba-san was concerned about privacy due to the delicacy of the matter,” she offered by way of explanation. “And Kaigi-san is away for the day. Take a seat and, when I am back at my desk, I will give Kaiba-san the private extension for this office. That way, there will be no speculation as to whether someone was listening in or not. Not that there was ever any truth to those rumors,” she said hurriedly as she backed out the door and closed it behind her.

Jou gave a derisive snort at the woman’s last statement and then fell silent as he waited for the phone to ring. Though he trusted Seto implicitly, he couldn’t help but feel nervous as he wondered why the brunette was engaging in such subterfuge when he could have just called his cell. Suddenly the phone rang and, chewing his lip anxiously, Jou picked up the receiver. “Uh, hello?”

“Hello, Beautiful,” Seto’s voice purred from the other end. “How’s my boy today?”

“I’m fine, now,” Jou replied with a grin, able to tell from Seto’s tone of voice that nothing was wrong. “But you’ve got Sanji’s curiosity so piqued that she’s practically molting from frustration. Emancipation process, indeed,” he giggled, not even bothering to try and sound stern. “Those papers have been finalized for weeks, Seto. You know that.”

“Well, I had to come up with something to get the woman to get you to a phone where we could talk privately. I’ve thought about you all morning,” Seto confessed huskily. “I just had to hear your voice.”

“Well, it was very naughty of you,” Jou retorted playfully, shuddering in delight at the sensual tenor of his boyfriend’s voice. “Honestly Love, why not just call my cell? That is what you bought it for, ne?”

“But I didn’t want to call you by cell,” the brunette said mock-petulantly. “I wanted you to be by yourself, where I could have your undivided attention. And if you think _that_ was naughty,” Seto continued. “Just wait ‘til I get you alone tonight. Then I’ll show you what ‘naughty’ truly is.” Jou moaned softly as his cock, already semi-hard from his boyfriend’s sultry tones, rapidly swelled into a full-fledged erection at the brunette’s suggestive words.

“God, Seto,” he said longingly, shifting in the chair and wincing from the near-painful pressure in his groin. “I miss you so bad; I can hardly wait ‘til you’re home.”

“Soon, Joey,” Seto replied, his tone just as wistful as the other’s. “Just a few short hours from now. But in the meantime,” the brunette’s voice was suddenly suggestive again. “Where are you right now?”

“I’m in Kaigi-san’s office,” Jou replied, silently cursing his boyfriend’s sexy voice. “He’s away for the day. Why?”

“Do you want to know where I am?” Seto asked huskily, ignoring the blonde’s question. Before Jou could reply he continued. “I’m naked in my hotel room, lying on the bed and thinking of you.” Jou whimpered in a combination of arousal and pain as his cock pushed even harder against the zipper of his uniform pants. “Lock the door, Joey,” Seto whispered hotly. “Lock the door and unzip your pants, and touch yourself for me. I’m touching myself for you.” In a lust-induced daze Jou did as he was told, nearly tripping in his haste to reach the lock before dropping back into the chair and picking the phone back up.

“Seto,” he moaned, even as he reached down to undo his pants, “This is- I’m in- what if I get caught?”

“Relax, Baby,” Seto purred, causing Jou to whimper again as the blonde freed his dick from its constraints. “It’s okay. If you’re as hard as I am, it won’t take long anyway.” Jou slouched down in the seat and closed his eyes as he lightly ran the fingers of his left hand down his length until he reached his sac. “You are hard, aren’t you Joey? Do I make you as hard as you make me?”

“Oh, God, Seto, yes,” Jou groaned, tucking the phone between his shoulder and his ear and slipping his left hand lower to gently fondle his balls as began to stroke himself with his right. “I’m _so_ hard.”

“Mmm,” Seto moaned into the phone. “I wish I were there to see you, to watch you pleasure yourself as you think of me, your face all flushed and those sweet lips parted and panting. Just the thought of tasting your lips again makes me nearly mad with desire. And your body; God, Joey, how I’ve missed holding you clothed. I can’t imagine the exquisiteness of holding you naked, touching you, _tasting_ you. God, Joey! Fuck, I’m so close.”

“Oh, Seto,” Jou gasped, his entire body trembling with his impending release. “I want- I need- to feel you- inside me, so hot, so hard, filling me-” The husky cry of release that the blonde heard from the other end of the line sent him over the edge and, biting his lip to stifle his own cry, he came, the hot, milky fluid running in rivulets down his fist.

“Joey? Love; you still there?” Slowly Jou came out of his euphoria and realized that Seto was calling him.

“Y- yeah, I’m still here,” he replied shakily, as he began to look for a means to clean up. “Damn, Seto; that was-” the blonde’s sentence was cut off by the first warning bell. “Damn,” he said again, tucking the phone back into his shoulder and using his clean hand to start opening desk drawers. “Seto, I’ve got to go.” Jou’s eyes lit up as he spotted a box of tissues. “First warning just rang, and I’ve got to clean up-”

“Hnn, if I were there, I know _just_ how to clean you up,” the brunette purred, eliciting a gasp from his boyfriend. “But I guess that’ll have to wait. I love you, Joey,” Seto said softly, his tone almost wistful again. “I’ll be out front at three.”

“I love you too, Set’. See you soon. Bye.” Jou hung up the phone and, grimacing slightly, cleaned himself up as best he could, glad that he’d taken to buttoning up the long uniform jacket when he’d gotten his new ones that year. Tossing the tissues into the trash, he headed for the door, finding himself face to face with the school secretary.

“I was just coming to get you,” Sanji stated, “But I see that Kaiba-san was respectful enough to finish his conversation before classes began.” The woman sniffed disdainfully as she took in Jou’s flushed face and slightly disheveled appearance. “Perhaps you should ask him to take you under his wing. I’m sure he could teach you a thing or two.” This time Jou couldn’t hold back his laugh.

“Hai, Sanji-san,” he grinned, offering her a bow before he turned to head back to class. “Of that, I have no doubt.”

*****

Jou glared at the test paper on his desk, rapping his pencil impatiently. He’d worked the same problem three times now, and had come up with a different answer each time. Taking a surreptitious glance at the clock, he felt his pulse quicken… only three minutes left until the final bell. Trying to bring his focus back onto math, he gave the story problem one last stab, jotting down yet another different answer as the bell finally had mercy and rang. Jou sighed in relief and, grabbing his test and scooping up his stuff, joined the queue of students as they filed past the sensei’s desk to deposit the paper before heading home for the weekend. His pace quickening with every step, Jou made his way to his locker, only to stop in surprise when he saw that Honda was waiting for him.

“Hey, Hon’; what’s up?” he queried, side stepping the brunette and dialing the combination. “I thought you and Anzu had plans right after school.”

“We do,” Honda replied, his eyes narrowing slightly as he watched Jou draw out the duffel bag containing his personal items. “But I wanted to talk to you first.”

“Sure thing, Bud,” Jou replied easily, bumping his locker door shut with a hip. “But you’ll have to talk and walk at the same time; Seto’s waiting.”

“Yeah, well,” Honda mumbled, trying to keep stride with the eager blonde. “That’s kind of what I wanted to talk to you about. I know that you and he haven’t-” He stopped and cleared his throat, trying to ignore the way that Jou’s mouth was twitching. “And I gathered that, from-” Honda gestured toward Jou’s duffel with his head. “- well, maybe tonight was the night.”

“Why, Hiroto,” Jou halted his stride, and blinked at him innocently. “Are you trying to give me ‘the talk’?” The brunette’s face reddened and instantly the shorter teen relented. “It’s okay, Hon’,” he said softly, laying a hand on his ‘brother’s’ arm. “I love you for caring so much, but it’s okay. Seto loves me, and I love him. He’s not going to hurt me again.”

“He’d better not,” Honda growled, pushing the door open with a little more vigor than normal. “Or he’ll-” his words trailed away as Jou, quickly squeezing his arm and flashing him a brilliant grin, ran down the steps and into the arms of the waiting brunette, who whirled the blonde around once and kissed him soundly before opening the door and ushering him into the limo. “He’d just better not.”

“He won’t,” a familiar, feminine voice said softly as two slender arms slipped around his waist from behind. “Didn’t you see Kaiba-kun’s face when he saw Jounouchi-kun just then?” Giving Honda’s midriff a squeeze, Anzu slipped around to his side, keeping an arm around her boyfriend. “His face lit up just like yours does when you see me. So,” she continued, pouting up playfully at the stocky brunette. “Unless you’ve been faking that goofy smile and dazed look in your eyes these past few months-” Anzu’s speculation was cut short as Honda bent down and silenced her with his lips.

“Hardly, Aino-chan,” he whispered when they parted, gazing down at the diminutive girl with a look of pure adoration.

“Hmmm, I don’t know,” Anzu replied, managing to sound skeptical despite her flushed face and slightly quickened breath. “I might need some more convince-” she broke her speech off with a squeal as she found herself scooped up by a pair strong arms and carried down the steps. Mere minutes later, Honda’s bike took off with a roar as they headed to Anzu’s so that her boyfriend could continue his convincing.

*****

Jou sighed contentedly and leaned back into Seto’s arms, watching the candlelight flicker in the shadows of the dimly-lit room as he thought back upon the past few hours. As soon as the limo door had been shut, he’d been pulled into Seto’s arms. The kiss that he’d received had been like no other; so hot and hungry and needy that just recalling it caused his groin to ache with desire. Unfortunately, however, the embrace had been as brief as it had been passionate; Seto had gently but firmly pushed Jou from his lap with the tantalizing promise of more after dinner. “I didn’t go through all that trouble to relieve myself this morning just to end up ravishing you in the limo anyways,” he’d teased breathlessly, obviously as affected by the kiss as Jou had been. “Now behave, and let me hold you, and I promise: the night will be worth it.”

True to his word, Seto hadn’t disappointed. Everything from the romantic stroll through the lush flower gardens of the estate to the exquisitely prepared meal on Seto’s bedroom balcony to the kisses and caresses in between had culminated to that moment on the chaise. And, as Seto’s arms tightened around him, the blonde’s eyes filled with happy tears as Jou realized that, if the love of his life were to never touch him any more intimately than he was at that moment, he could die a blissfully happy man.

“What are you thinking about, Love?” Seto murmured into Jou’s hair, feeling the blonde’s tremulous sigh.

“About how much I love you,” Jou replied softly, sliding his head to the side to gaze up at the handsome brunette. “About how, if the world were to end at this moment and I had to spend eternity in your arms, that there’s no place I’d rather spend it.”

“I love you too, Joey,” Seto whispered, blinking back the tears that Jou’s words of devotion had wrought. “I love you so very much.” He leaned down and kissed the blonde gently. “You know,” he continued softly, shifting so that Jou was forced to sit up a bit more. “I once told my mother that I’d never love anyone as much as I loved her, and that no one would ever take her place in my heart.” Seto reached over to the end table next to the chaise and slid open the drawer. “But I know now that I was only partially correct.” Slipping his hand into the drawer, the brunette removed a small box and handed it to Jou. “Okaa-san will always have her place in my heart, but I’ve never loved anyone as much as I do you. She knew back then that you were special and, though she’s no longer here, I know that nothing would have brought her more joy than knowing that we’re together. That’s why I want you to have this. Open it,” he instructed huskily, watching as Jou stared at the box almost reverently. With trembling fingers, Jou complied, and, with a half-gasp, half-sob, he drew out the precious amber ring. “It was the last gift I gave to her before she died,” Seto continued softly, removing the piece of jewelry from Jou’s right hand and slipping it over his left ring finger. “When I chose it for her, I picked the amber out of all of April’s gems because of what the stone represented: love and joy, strength and protection.” Removing his hand from Jou’s he brought it up to cup his face, caressing the blonde’s cheek with his thumb. “But now it means so much more to me,” he whispered, slowly lowering his mouth to Jou’s as he stared deeply into the other teen’s eyes, “its color reminds me of the most beautiful eyes that I have ever seen.”

With those words, Seto claimed Jou’s mouth with his own, gently silencing the sob that threatened to escape his lover’s lips. Whimpering instead, Jou turned in Seto’s arms without breaking the kiss and, straddling the brunette, tilted his head and parted his lips in invitation. Eagerly Seto accepted and soon, his gently caressing tongue became forceful and hungry as he continued to explore the sweet mouth that had opened so willingly for him to claim. Growling lustily at the thought of finally making Joey his in every possible way, Seto broke away from those tempting lips and stared hungrily at the flushed and panting blonde in his arms. “Are you ready for this, Joey?” he asked, dropping his mouth to Jou’s neck and running a teasing tongue up to his lover’s ear. “Are you ready for me?” The hotly whispered words went straight to Jou’s groin and his hips thrust involuntarily, pushing his denim-clad erection against Seto’s abdomen. The brunette groaned as he felt the proof of Jou’s arousal and, sliding his hands to the blonde’s waist, forced the smaller teen’s hips down as he thrust in return. Feeling Seto’s cloth covered cock press into his ass broke the last of Jou’s restraint and, moaning lasciviously, he laid himself back on the couch, drawing his lover down with him.

“Please, Seto,” he pleaded breathily; punctuating his words with teasing kisses to the brunette’s face and neck. “I’ve waited so long; don’t make me wait any longer.” To illustrate his point, Jou brought his hands up to Seto’s shirt front, hurriedly undoing the buttons in his anxiety to get to the flesh beneath. Scooting down slightly, the blonde drew his tongue across the brunette’s chest until he came to a nipple. Lapping teasingly at the protrusion and delighting in the moan the action elicited, Jou moved back across to the other one, giving it the same treatment before returning his mouth to Seto’s ear. “I’ve been ready for this since I saw you in homeroom the first day of school, before I knew you were mine.”

Growling carnally at Jou’s wanton admission, Seto removed himself from the blonde and drew the smaller teen to his feet, leading him to the bed. Slowly and sensually the two undressed each other, languidly exploring each other’s nakedness with hands, lips and tongues as they drove their need to a near-fevered pitch. Moaning in need as he felt Seto’s fingers tease along his crevasse, Jou tore himself from the brunette’s embrace and backed onto the bed, spreading his legs and beckoning to his lover with his eyes. Instantly the other responded and, once again claiming Jou’s lips in a passionate kiss, Seto gently began to prepare the blonde, relishing in the mewls and cries his actions elicited as much as the tightness and heat that surrounded his fingers. And, when Jou arched off the bed and screamed Seto’s name as those fingers found the blonde’s prostate, Joey’s lover could wait no longer.

Gently removing his fingers, the brunette generously coated his throbbing length with lubricant, closing his eyes and hissing slightly as the cool gel slid over his heated flesh. A needy whimper from the blonde caused Seto to open his eyes, and seeing the hungry look the shorter teen gave him as he gazed longingly at his cock, the brunette couldn’t help but tease.

“Do you want this, Love?” he purred, slowing his strokes from those of rapid preparation to those of sensual teasing. Smirking as Jou whimpered again and bucked his hips, Seto brought his hand to the blonde’s copiously weeping cock and began to pump his erection in time with the strokes he made to his own needy length. “Or do you want to play some more?” he asked as he ran his thumb across the sensitive slit at the tip of Jou’s length, causing the blonde to arch off the bed and cry out once again.

“Don’t tease, Seto,” Jou panted, writhing with need as his lover continued to gently torment him. “Please, don’t-” the blonde broke off in a wordless cry of ecstasy as he found himself being slowly and carefully filled with his lover’s cock. As Seto became fully seated, Jou couldn’t help but sob at the overwhelming sensation of finally being complete.

“Joey? Love, what is it?” Seto asked concernedly. Distressed at the thought of hurting his lover, the brunette slowly began to pull out.

“No, Seto, please,” Jou managed to get out. “I promise, you’re not hurting me. It’s just that to be here, with you, like this-” the blonde choked back another sob and, reaching out with both arms, drew Seto’s upper body down to his. “Make love to me, Seto,” he pleaded, covering the brunette’s face with his kisses and tears. “Take my body and make it yours, just like you did with my heart.” Seto’s own eyes filled as he heard his lover’s request and, gently claiming Jou’s mouth once again, he slowly began to move. After a moment, when the pain of penetration and the ache of fulfillment subsided, Jou began to move with him. Seto growled in the back of his throat as he heard his lover’s needy mewls and breathy pleas for more; he began to move faster and harder, pushing himself out of the other’s embrace and gently bringing the blonde’s lanky legs up on his arms to better angle his thrusts. Hearing Jou’s pleasured cry as his cock found his lover’s prostate, Seto knew it wouldn’t be long, for either of them. Slightly shifting his weight to one side, he snaked a hand between their two sweaty bodies and grabbed Jou’s cock once again, stroking his lover’s erection as he relentlessly pounded into his hot, tight ass. 

The next thing he knew, Seto was witnessing a picture of sheer eroticism as he brought Jou to his peak. Golden tresses, dampened with sweat, clung to his lover’s beautiful face. Amber eyes, molten with desire, burned and flared just for him. Lush, full lips, bruised from his kisses, passionately cried out his name. And the perfect, lithe body, shining with sweat, forced him to claim Jou as his as the muscles in the blonde’s silken passage contracted with his lover’s release, causing Seto to rasp out Jou’s name as he followed him over the edge. After a moment, Seto slid his arms beneath the blonde and, as his spent member slid out of his lover, he carefully rolled them both to their sides. Sweet words of love and tender caresses were exchanged as the two sated bodies pressed tightly together, trembling with emotion and exhaustion, until, finally, the lovers drifted to sleep, safe and at peace in each other’s arms.

*****  
An elegant woman stood in the doorway, her eyes following her son as he walked across the room, the slightly stoic expression he wore throughout the day melting away into one of pure bliss as he was greeted with a passionate embrace from his heart’s mate. Kimi waited patiently, her eyes drinking in the sight of her happy young man until, about five minutes later, Seto caught sight of her standing there. The brunette’s face colored lightly and he offered his mother a sheepish smile, his color deepening as Kimi rolled her eyes teasingly and looked pointedly at the couple’s joined hands. Joey caught the look as well and, smiling shyly, moved closer to Seto as they began to walk toward the woman. Stopping in front of Kimi, Seto released Joey’s hand and willingly bent down to accept his mother’s embrace before turning back to his lover and noticing his apprehensive expression.

“Go ahead, Joey,” Seto encouraged, grasping the blonde’s hand in his once again. “That’s why you’re here, after all. And besides,” the brunette leaned down and brushed his lover’s cheek with a gentle kiss. “I already told you how highly she thinks of you, and you know how much I love you.” Kimi’s heart just about melted when she heard Seto’s tender words, and, upon seeing the look of utter adoration Joey gave her son in response, all worries as to her young man’s happiness faded completely away. Suddenly, a soft, accented voice drew her out of her musings.

“Arigatou gozaimasu, Rosu-san,” Joey said, leaning down and giving Kimi a shy hug. “Thank you for bringing Seto into my life all those years ago. And, thank you for bringing him back to me now- for helping him to remember that he loves me.” Looking into Joey’s amber eyes, Kimi slipped off her ring and pressed it into his hand.

“Love and Joy, Strength and Protection,” she said softly, taking hold of Seto’s hand and placing it over the hand of Joey’s that held the ring. “May the two of you be all that and more to each other.” Removing her hand from their joined ones, Kimi turned and looked up at her son. “I need to go now, Seto,” she said, smiling wistfully at her boy. “You have found your past and have remembered it, now you need to move beyond it. Look forward, Se-chan,” she whispered as she stepped across the hall and into the bedroom where Seto had sought refuge from the darkness so many weeks before, “Look forward; _don’t_ look back.”

As the door to Kimi’s room swung shut Seto blinked open his eyes, his gaze landing on the beautiful blonde asleep in his arms. He couldn’t help but smile as he noticed how the soft glow of the moonlight made the golden tresses shimmer with an almost ethereal light. He grasped Joey’s ring-clad hand from where it lay on the comforter and held it to his chest. _‘Move forward,’_ he thought to himself as he recalled the last words his mother had spoken to him in his dream. And, as the amber stone gleamed in the moonlight and his lover nestled deeper into his embrace, Seto fell back asleep, safe in the knowledge that, with his mother’s blessing and Joey’s love, he could finally do just that.


End file.
